Chariot's Progress
by SilvorMoon
Summary: Misawa thought beating the Society of Light's representative would prove his worth to the school. He had no idea how wrong he was. Sometimes winning is losing, and sometimes light is dark, but pride always goes before a fall.
1. Drawing the Chariot

**Chapter 1 - Drawing the Chariot**

**By: SilvorMoon**

Saioh sat alone in his room, his head bowed and eyes closed, hands folded loosely in his lap. A deck of cards lay in front of him, their image reflected on the glass tabletop, but he was not ready for them. He needed time to gather his thoughts, to focus his energy on the question at hand.

_I know my enemy: Yuuki Juudai, he who is signified by the Fool..._ Not many people would consider a Fool to be a dangerous thing, but Saioh knew better. The story of the Tarot was ultimately the story of the Fool, a man who knew nothing and worried about nothing, and yet carried all possibilities with him. Just like the Fool in the story, Juudai held infinite potential as well, for he alone had the power to resist Destiny. All paths were open to him if only he chose to pursue them. However, not even the Fool lived a life free from danger, for he danced on the edge of a cliff, and any little thing might send him tumbling into oblivion.

_I may not be able to rob you of your power to choose, Fool, but I can arrange it so that you are a bit more obliging in choosing paths that will not obstruct my own._

He thought he had devised a way to do so. Close observation had showed him that whatever Juudai did, he always did it with backup standing by. Just as the Fool in the story could not discover his gifts until he was guided by those he met along the road, Juudai seemed to draw his strength from the companionship of others. Saioh had been lucky enough to take a few of his friends early on, and was making sure to keep them close by his side. Manjoume and Asuka had high rankings in the Society of Light primarily because they had been friends of Juudai's, and Saioh wanted to make sure they were always where he could see them and keep them free from Juudai's influence.

If only he could lure a few more of Juudai's companions away from him, he might be able to undermine Juudai's will to fight, but so far, his attempts had been met with more resistance than he would have believed possible. His attempt to win the boy Kenzan into the Society had met with failure that had been enough to shock even Saioh, and after that, he had been wary of attempting to win over Juudai's "little brother", who seemed even more tightly linked to the boy than Kenzan was. Surely, though, there had to be some other weak point in Juudai's armor. A boy who seemed so popular and personable must have other friends on this island who could be used against him, and that was what Saioh was trying to learn of now.

Saioh raised his head and opened his eyes, which were now shining softly with some pale inner light, and reached out a hand to take his deck. He was ready. With smooth, expert motions, he shuffled the cards and laid them out in a pattern on the table. Since he wanted a simple answer, he settled for a simple arrangement of three cards. He overturned the first and found that it was the Hanged Man, the card that represented Manjoume Jun. The second card was the Sun, which he associated with Tenjoin Asuka.

_A chronological progression, perhaps?_ Saioh thought. _Then the last card should signify the person who will be next to join the fold._

Feeling a flicker of eagerness, he reached out to overturn the third card. He studied it a moment, considering its meaning. It was the Chariot, in reversed position.

_Intriguing... the Chariot in reverse represents ambition, overstepping boundaries, loss of control due to personal flaws, and disregard for the welfare of others. That hardly sounds like the kind of person who would be friendly with Juudai, or anyone else, for that matter. Still, as the Chariot is called the Lord of the Triumph of Light, perhaps it is a good sign for me. It will be interesting to meet this person..._

There was a sudden light tap on the door that shook Saioh from his musings. He was not bothered, however; he had learned what he needed to know.

"You may enter," he said.

One of his white-suited followers stepped into the room, and immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

"Master Saioh," he said, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but there's some guy in a yellow jacket downstairs ranting about wanting to duel with you."

Saioh smiled smugly. "I knew that."

The boy raised his head in surprised. "You did?"

"Yes, indeed. The Light reveals all to those who have the eyes to see," Saioh intoned grandly. He rose from his chair. "Come. Let us have words with this young man. He intrigues me."

The boy rose to his feet, looking flushed with awe at the thought of escorting the master of the Society of Light. Saioh simply strolled along without looking at him, with a faintly amused smile playing across his lips.

_My Chariot awaits._

* * *

There was a person in a yellow jacket standing in the main hall of the White building. He was not ranting, however. He was standing still, trembling only very slightly with adrenaline, and trying not to be intimidated by the hostile stares of the other students. Misawa had not realized, before, just how intimidating the color white could be. White was supposed to be for the good guys, but here in this dazzlingly lit room, he felt painfully exposed, and it was hard to find a comfortable place to let his gaze rest. He felt as if he were slowly going blind. The old Obelisk Blue dorm had felt grand and a little intimidating to someone who knew he didn't belong there, but this place felt downright alien. Somehow even the muted yellow of his uniform seemed garish in this pure white world. Still, he stood his ground.

_I'm not letting these people intimidate me! They're nothing more than a bunch of mindless sheep, following a leader who stays holed up in his room for days at a time. They are powerless, and I'm going to prove it!_

There was a sudden stir, as all eyes suddenly turned upwards, as if at some unseen signal. Misawa glanced up as well, and a few seconds later, Saioh himself stepped into view. He slowly descended the stairs, and Misawa, despite his determination, couldn't help but feel a thrill as he caught sight of him. Whatever other qualities the man might or might not have possessed, Saioh radiated a charisma that made those around him want to stare at him and hang on to his every word, even if he did nothing more than remark about the weather. Now he came to stand on the first landing where he could look down on the assembled crowd.

"We have a stranger in our midst," he said in his hypnotic voice. He raised his eyes so that they focused squarely on the single boy not dressed in white. "Misawa Daichi. I have been expecting and anticipating your arrival. You have a request to ask of me, do you not?"

_So he does know my name!_ thought Misawa in surprise. The thought that Saioh had known about him all along and had simply been waiting for him to come and pay a visit was enough to throw him off his mental feet for a moment. _Too little, too late,_ he told himself firmly. _If I was really that important to him, I wouldn't_ have _to come to him by myself._

"I do," he said, trying to project confidence into his voice. "Saioh Takuma, I am here to prove that you and your Society are weak, and I am going to do it by challenging you to a duel. If I win, I want your promise that you will leave Duel Academia!"

There was instant chaos in the room, as the other students made their disapproval known. The only points of stillness were Misawa himself, standing like a rock in a stormy sea, and Saioh, his luminous eyes locked on Misawa. He seemed to smile for an instant, and then his expression shifted to one of placid unconcern. He raised his hands.

"Quiet," he said, and there was quiet. All eyes turned to look up at him - most worshipfully, but two warily.

"Thank you," he said. "My associates, do not let your emotions cloud your minds. True faith permits questioning, for only those who are weak in their faith are afraid of being proven wrong. If you truly believe in my vision and in the power of the True Light, then you have no need to resent this challenge. Are there any more objections?"

There was silence in the room.

"Very good. Mr. Misawa, I apologize for my friends' impoliteness," said Saioh. "I believe I will accept... a variation of your challenge. Would you be agreeable to my appointing a representative to duel in my stead? My deck is not yet prepared, and I would not be able to give you my full strength just now. If you want to duel right away, I will have to choose someone who can face you on equal ground."

Misawa did some quick thinking. He would have preferred to face down Saioh himself, but one of his subordinates might do just as well if it was someone sufficiently high-ranking.

"Who did you have in mind?" he asked.

"I was thinking that Manjoume might be willing to take the job," said Saioh. "He is my second-in-command, and I have placed my trust and my power in him."

Misawa nodded. Everyone recognized Manjoume as a force to be reckoned with, no matter what the situation, and dueling the Society's second-in-command was almost as good as dueling Saioh himself. It would prove that Misawa was better than anyone else who followed Saioh, and Saioh had as good as admitted that he didn't think he could stand up to Misawa himself.

_Once I've won this duel, no one will ever be able to say I'm weak and insignificant!_

"And if I win against him, my condition still holds? You'll leave the island?" Misawa asked.

"Yes, I will," Saioh said mildly, prompting a distressed murmur from his followers, as they contemplated a life without their leader. "But you understand, don't you, that if you lose, you will join our Society?"

"I understand," said Misawa.

"Very good. I'm glad we've reached a satisfactory arrangement," Saioh replied. "We will meet in the Obelisk arena in one hour." Beckoning to his right-hand man, he said, "Manjoume, come with me. We must discuss your strategy."

Misawa perceived that his interview was at an end. He gave a slight bow, no more than would have been required by politeness, and walked out of the room. It seemed to take a long time to make it down that carpet to the doors, feeling everyone's eyes resting on him.

_They don't think I can do it,_ he thought. _Well, I'll show them. I'll show them all! I'll make them realize the mistake they're making, looking down on me..._

Meanwhile, Saioh was leading his loyal follower back upstairs to Saioh's private chambers. Manjoume scampered to open the door for his master as they reached the room, earning him a nod of approval as Saioh glided past to take a seat in his usual chair. Manjoume, ever the eager servant, walked over to Saioh's side and dropped to one knee in a gesture of obeisance.

"Do you mind being volunteered for this task, Manjoume?" Saioh asked him.

"I would do anything for you, Master Saioh," Manjoume answered. "I'm not afraid of losing to him."

"I see. You are confident in your ability?"

"Yes. There's nothing I can't do for the sake of the Society!"

"Good. I am glad to hear that," said Saioh. "I need someone who is both confident and loyal, and you are my most trusted follower. I know I can count on you to do whatever I need done, even if it is unpleasant to you. Isn't that correct?"

"Of course, Master Saioh! You name it and I'll do it!"

"Then I want you to lose this duel."

Manjoume raised his eyes in surprise. "What? But why? If I lose, then..."

"Then I will have to leave you, yes," said Saioh with a regretful sigh. "The ways of Destiny are often painful, but this is what is best for all of us in the long run."

"But that can't be right!" Manjoume blurted. "What could be more important than the glory of the Light? Isn't Destiny on our side?"

"Yes, yes. Calm yourself," said Saioh, laying a hand on Manjoume's head and stroking his hair soothingly. "The ways of Destiny are often circuitous, and difficult to follow for those who have not the Sight. You must believe me when I say that in this case, to lose this duel will ultimately bring us a victory. Trust me. I have a plan. Now, you must keep this very secret - it won't work out if you go telling people."

"Can you tell me?" Manjoume asked hopefully.

"Of course I can tell you," Saioh replied, and he did. Manjoume listened with a slowly dawning expression of comprehension.

"That's twisted," he said. "I like it."

"I knew you would," said Saioh. "That's why I chose you. And now you had better go. You have a duel to prepare for. Just because you have to lose doesn't mean you should not make an effort to look good. In fact, it would be better if you did."

"Yes, Master Saioh," Manjoume agreed. Looking somewhat more cheerful, he rose to his feet, bowed one last time, and headed for the door.

"This should be entertaining," Saioh murmured. He put his cards safely away and prepared to enter the arena. Even knowing exactly how it would end, this was one duel he didn't want to miss.

* * *

Misawa's hands were sweating. His whole body ached faintly from the hits he had been taking from Manjoume's Assault Cannon Beetle and the rest of his arsenal. He was having trouble differentiating between the roar of the crowd and the rushing of blood in his ears. He was uncomfortably aware that no one up there was cheering for him. On the pretense of wiping the sweat from his brow, he raised his head and let his hand shield his eyes from the spotlights long enough to look up at the stands. He caught a glimpse of Saioh watching him, wearing his usual placid expression. Somehow, the look infuriated him.

_Destiny! Fate! I'll show you! I won't let my life be guided by such superstitious nonsense. I'll show you my power!_

At that moment, Manjoume launched his next attack. Misawa watched it coming at him, knowing that if it hit him, the last of his life points would be wiped out, and it would be the end of his freedom. He would be drawn into the Society of Light, and be one more mindless sheep in a flock of white uniforms.

_I don't want to disappear into that crowd. This is my moment to shine!_

"Trap card activate!" he shouted. "Magic Cylinder! Your attack is directed away from me and strikes you instead!"

There was a tremendous burst of light and a rushing sound as the blast meant to wipe out Misawa's life points was sucked into the Cylinder and forced back to its source - straight down the barrel of Manjoume's Cannon. The weapon exploded, sending up bursts of smoke and light that flung Manjoume off his feet and completely off the stage. Misawa stood feeling breathless and elated.

"I did it!" he said softly. "I've defeated the Society of Light!"

His words sounded strangely loud to him. Suddenly it dawned on him that the auditorium was silent. He looked up at the crowds, and saw a sea of angry faces looking down at him.

The ominous silence was broken by the sound of someone booing. Someone else joined in.

"How dare you!"

"He must have cheated! No one beats the Society of Light!"

"Cheater!"

"Bastard!"

"BOOO!"

Someone threw a wad of paper down at him, and Misawa ducked as several more hurled objects. No matter which way he turned, people were pelting him with pencils, erasers, books, even shoes. One of them hit his Duel Disk, sending cards scattering, and he scampered to collect them as other things rained down on him. The crowd was working itself up to riot conditions, screaming insults and stamping their feet. A few people were trying to climb over the railings, and Misawa suddenly realized that he might be in for a whole lot worse than just having pencils thrown at him if he didn't get away in a hurry.

_This isn't how it was supposed to happen!_

"Quiet!" said a voice in the stands. Soft though it was, it cut through the chaos, and somehow, everything became still. All eyes turned towards Saioh, who was standing and holding up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Please, my friends, let us not have any more of this unseemly behavior," he said. "Mr. Misawa has performed admirably, and we must abide by our bargain. As promised, I will leave the island."

This announcement was met by loud objections.

"Please, don't leave us!"

"What will we do without you?"

"What about the Society?"

"We need you, Master Saioh!"

"Have no fear," said Saioh. "As long as the Light remains in your hearts, the Society will survive. I have left instructions with Manjoume as to what should be done in my absence. Obey him as you would obey me, and all will be well. I am certain it will be our destiny to meet again soon."

Misawa listened to this speech, and a feeling of cold dread settled in his stomach as he realized what he had done. Yes, he had driven Saioh off of the island, but so what? The Society would still be there, and Manjoume would go on winning over new recruits in anticipation of the day he would see his master again. In the meantime, far from being admired, Misawa had just turned himself into the most despised person on the island.

_Oh, brilliant move, Misawa. How did I not see this coming?_

There seemed to be only one thing he could do. While everyone else was watching Saioh pick his way through the crowd, presumably to take himself away to pack for his departure, Misawa gathered his own things and stole away to the back entrance.

A moment later, Juudai and the rest of his friends came rushing in the other door, breathing heavily from their run. Juudai was muttering something under his breath, apparently irritated at Ed Phoenix for not telling him sooner that there was a duel going on. He stopped short as he saw Manjoume lying sprawled on the floor in front of him.

"What happened?" Juudai asked. "Did we miss the duel? Did Misawa lose?"

Manjoume sat up and brushed himself off. He was grinning, and a wild light gleamed in his eyes. He gave a slightly unhinged laugh.

"Oh, yeah. He lost, all right," he said. "Big time."

* * *

It was evening. Manjoume stood on the balcony outside his room and watched the retreating shape of a small boat. On that boat was the man known as Saioh Takuma, leader of the Society of Light, now bound to parts unknown. Manjoume raised a glass of ginger ale to his departing leader in a toast.

"Here's to the plan, and the glory of the Light!" he said, and raised the glass to his lips. However, before he could drink, there was a knock at his door.

"Who goes there?" he called.

"It's me," said a terse voice from the hallway. "Let me in. I want a word with you."

"Asuka! Just one moment," Manjoume called back. He hurried back into his room, stopped in front of a mirror to smooth his wind-ruffled hair, and ascertained that there was an extra glass handy. All the white light in the world couldn't completely erase his infatuation with Asuka, and he had to do his best to impress her under any circumstances. Only when he was certain he was prepared did he open the door to find Asuka standing there with a scowl on her face. Since he was used to her scowling at him, he overlooked this fact. "Come in, come in! What can I do for you?"

"You can tell me how you managed to ruin everything so spectacularly," she snapped as she marched into the room. She slammed the door behind her and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him her most intimidating glare. Manjoume surprised her by not looking intimidated. He usually went to quivering jelly whenever she gave him that look, just as he usually melted to a puddle of blissful mush if she smiled at him. His confidence now unnerved her slightly.

"I didn't ruin everything," he said calmly, swirling the ice cubes in his drink before taking a sip. "I didn't ruin _anything_. Everything happened according to Saioh's will. Would you like a drink?"

"I... you... what?" For once, Asuka was speechless.

Manjoume filled a glass with ice cubes and gracefully poured in the ginger ale, taking a moment to replenish his glass as well - and also to enjoy her surprise.

"We planned it all, Master Saioh and I," he said, passing a drink to her. "Where's your faith in the Light, Asuka? It revealed to Saioh exactly what was going to happen. He knows _everything._ You know that."

"But why would he want to leave us?"

"He hasn't gone far. This is just his way of punishing an unbeliever. We're going to make an example of Misawa Daichi that no one in this school will ever forget. By the time we're done, he'll know the true power of Light, and he'll be begging on bended knee to join us - and so will everyone else in the school. That's how brilliant Master Saioh is."

"So you're telling me that losing that duel was part of the plan?" asked Asuka, looking intrigued now.

"Absolutely! It wouldn't work if Misawa lost. A member of the Society had to lose, and it had to be someone good so he would be convinced he'd won fair and square. Hence, my humble role in the proceedings."

"I still can't imagine what kind of plan Master Saioh would have that would involve him leaving the island," said Asuka dubiously. "Are you sure you did everything right?"

"Positive," Manjoume answered smugly. "Master Saioh told me the whole plan. I'm not supposed to tell anyone else, though, or it might spoil everything. It has to stay a secret from the rest of the Society."

"You can't even tell me?" Asuka asked.

"Well, _maybe_ I could tell you," said Manjoume. He was enjoying having something Asuka wanted, for once, and he was going to milk it for all it was worth. "But if I tell you, that would be a breach of Master Saioh's trust. I think I had better not say anything."

"Oh, come off it. You don't know anything," she accused. "You're just trying to get me to - to kiss you or something to make you tell."

"I wouldn't do anything like that!" Manjoume insisted, looking innocent.

"Then spill. Now that Saioh's gone, I'm second-in-command, and I need to know what's going on so I can do my job," said Asuka sensibly.

"Well, there is that," Manjoume allowed. "All right, then, listen to this..."

He outlined the whole plan to her while she listened.

"Isn't that a bit extreme, just for one dissenter?" she asked.

"There's more than one dissenter on this island," said Manjoume. "Including that Juudai, and he's the one Saioh wants rubbed out. I told you, we're going to make Misawa an example. This isn't just one guy, it's a piece of Saioh's master plan. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"You're probably right." Asuka relaxed and took a sip of her drink, mostly because it was there. "So you really could have beaten him if you had wanted to?"

"Of course I could. I knew what he was planning to do all along," Manjoume boasted. Truthfully he was not entirely certain if he could have done it by himself or not; Misawa had played a tough game, and Manjoume had been forced to think quickly so as to not make the win look too easy for Misawa. However, he knew his master was capable of sharing his clairvoyant powers if he wished, and had indeed done so for Manjoume before. He was certain that if Saioh had meant for him to win, he would have. "Come on! You didn't think I'd use such lame cards if I was playing seriously, did you?"

"You did use some strange cards," Asuka admitted. "Have you always had those Ojama things in your deck?"

"Of course not," he said, at the same time wondering if it was true. His memories before joining the Society had dwindled to insignificance under the powerful glare of the white light. But he was certain Saioh had chosen him because he was a strong duelist, and a strong duelist wouldn't use weak cards like the Ojamas. "I should probably get rid of them. They won't do me any good if I'm in a duel I actually want to _win_."

He wandered back to the balcony and fished the Ojama cards out of his deck. He stared down at them for a moment, trying to sort through his confused memories of how they had gotten there in the first place. The white light in his mind seemed to form itself into a vision of snow, lots of snow, and a town of sorts where people dueled, but it slipped away from him even as he tried to recollect the details. He decided it didn't matter. As he held up the cards to catch the wind, something in him seemed to say _NO!_, but it was already too late. The cards sailed away and were gone. He wondered why he felt a pang of regret.

"Now you can replace them with something more suitable," said a voice behind him, and he turned to see that Asuka was coming to join him on the balcony. "What good are green, black, and yellow monsters? You should look into getting some proper white ones. I've been building a new deck, myself."

"You're right. I should do that," said Manjoume. Already the feeling of inexplicable regret was fading. What did he have to regret? Saioh would return soon, and Misawa would get what was coming to him, and in the meantime, Manjoume ruled the school. He was also standing under a starlit sky with Asuka at his side, and that was nothing to regret, either. She was more interesting than any card could be.

"What do you think?" he asked, waving his free hand to indicate the view of the school spread out before them. "All this is ours now."

"Until Saioh comes back," she replied.

"Until Saioh comes back," Manjoume echoed, "but that could be a while, so why not enjoy ourselves a little? He never said we couldn't."

"Well, that's true..." Asuka allowed.

"So let's celebrate," said Manjoume. He raised his glass. "To the Society of Light!"

"To the Society!" she agreed, and chimed her glass to his.

* * *

The next few days were spent trying to keep out of the way. Misawa was determined not to let this setback get him down, no matter how badly it had gone wrong. Unfortunately it had gone wrong very badly indeed. At the incitement of Manjoume, the Whites conspired to shun Misawa and took every opportunity to make his life miserable. They tripped him when he walked down the halls, spilled their drinks on his homework, left gum in his seat, threw things at him when his back was turned, hissed insults whenever he walked past them, passed him vulgar notes in class, whatever they could think of. One of them actually managed to get hold of one of his cards and tear it in half. Another accidentally-on-purpose managed to leave an uncapped permanent marker too close to the hem of his coat during art class and put a large purple blotch on it, earning him a scolding from the people who supplied uniforms. Even those who weren't part of the Society were bullied by the Whites into giving him the cold shoulder. The only people who would speak to him at all were Juudai and his friends, and even that grew difficult after a while, as the Whites seemed determined to keep Misawa away from them - by force, if necessary. Attempting to get near the Osiris dorm was a good way to end up with a few bruises at the very least. Even the teachers seemed a little afraid to pay more attention to him than was strictly necessary. The Whites had been more restless than usual in the wake of their leader's disappearance, and were quick to cause disturbances. No one wanted to risk bringing down the wrath of the combined Society of Light. With no other refuge, Misawa spent most of his time hidden in his room.

"It's all right," he told himself, as he slogged up the sidewalk on his way to class. "I'll get through this."

He had taken to arriving to his classes as early as possible, in hopes of getting there before any of the Whites did. They could still make his life miserable while he was at his desk, but at least he didn't have to run a gauntlet down the hall every morning, fighting his way past angry students trying to push or trip him or spit on him. One morning a few of them had ganged up on him and restrained him from entering the classroom at all, and he'd ended up getting a detention for cutting class.

"Sooner or later, they'll get tired of picking on me and find a new target," he muttered, trying to believe it. "They can't keep this up forever. I'm better than them, and I'm smarter than them, and that's all there is to it. They don't have their leader anymore, so they're bound to fall apart eventually."

He arrived at the classroom door with a sense of relief. Classes were one of the few places where he was relatively safe. The pranks and jibes were far milder under the watchful eyes of their teachers. Chronos in particular seemed resistant to the Whites' brand of intimidation, and he managed to keep them more or less in line. It made Misawa grateful that Chronos's class was his first one of the day. The Society might be able to ruin him socially, but he was still had the best grades of any other student in his year, and that was one thing they couldn't change.

He opened the door and was surprised to find Asuka already sitting and waiting there. He wondered what he ought to do. Ignore her? Come back later, when there were more people around? Stay where he was and wait for Chronos, or even Juudai and the rest, to arrive and provide some backup?

"Don't just stand there," Asuka told him. "Come here. We need to talk." As he hesitated, she said, "Don't bother waiting for a teacher. Someone has been sent to delay Professor Chronos until we've had some time to chat."

"I don't want to talk to you," he said, "and you people have made it abundantly clear that none of you want anything to do with me."

"Actually, there _is_ something we want from you," she said. "Come in and sit down. Now."

The coldness in her once-warm amber eyes and her formerly sweet voice compelled him to move. He came in and sat down, though nowhere near Asuka.

"You know what your problem is, don't you?" she asked him.

"My problem," he replied, "is that you people won't leave me alone."

"Your problem is that you sent our master away. We don't like that."

"He agreed to it."

"We didn't."

"Well, that's your problem, isn't it?"

"It is," said Asuka, "and we are entirely capable of making it _your_ problem as well, unless you decide to cooperate with us."

"I don't want to join your Society, so you can forget all about that," Misawa retorted.

"You don't have to join us, yet," she said. "For the moment, there is only one thing we want. Do it, and you have my word as one of the high officials of the Society of Light that the hazing will stop."

"What is it you want?" he asked. He was surprised to find that he was at least considering doing whatever she asked if it would make things go back to something like normal.

"We want you to find out where Saioh has gone and ask him to come back," she replied.

"What?"

"We want our master back. He left because of you, so you're the only one who can make him come back. The whole Society understands this, because Manjoume and I have told them so. They'll keep on harassing you until you cooperate. And it will only get worse from here on in."

"I fail to see how it could get much worse," said Misawa.

"How would you like to be thrown out of Duel Academia in disgrace?" she asked him. "If you get expelled, you'll never become a professional duelist. Your reputation will be ruined. We can do it. Even the teachers are afraid of us."

"You're bluffing," said Misawa. "You can't do that."

"We can and we will," Asuka replied. "Vice-Principal Napoleon listens to us. He's a coward, and we frighten him. We've convinced him that you're at the root of all the trouble in this school that there's been lately. He's willing to cooperate with us if it will stop any more problems from happening. So, do we have a deal?"

"Not on your life," Misawa answered. "I'm not afraid of you or the Society of Light."

"Then you're a fool," Asuka said crisply. "But you'll change your mind. It's Destiny."

Misawa's only answer was a noncommittal grunt. Fortunately, at that moment, Professor Chronos arrived. He was deep in conversation with a pair of white-uniformed students, but they appeared to be discussing a perfectly ordinary assignment, and didn't sound as if they were up to anything sinister. Misawa mentally chalked up his discussion with Asuka as just another attempt to frighten him. He opened up his notebook and prepared for his lesson.

Chronos called the roll and set about giving his daily lecture, and Misawa forced himself to think of nothing but taking notes. He was so successful at this pursuit that it took him a while to realize that something strange was happening. Gradually a sense of something being off stole over him, and he looked around to realize that all the other students in the class were hard at work taking notes as well. Not a single one was so much as looking in his direction. After days of constant harassment, this sudden display of disinterest struck him as ominous. A chill crawled up his spine.

"Misawa Daichi!"

Misawa jumped about a foot in the air, dropped his pencil, and nearly knocked his notebook to the floor. The voice from the loudspeaker boomed again, "Misawa Daichi, please report to the principal's office!"

Chronos looked slightly scandalized.

"But I'm the principal!" he protested. "How can someone be calling him to the principal's office if I'm not in it?"

Misawa scanned the room. The faces of the Society members were uniformly smug.

"I suppose I had better go find out," he said.

With a feeling of doom hanging over him, he gathered his things and trekked up to the principal's office, wondering what was in store for him now.

"They can't get me kicked out of school," he told himself fiercely. "They _can't_. Not even they have that much power, even if they do have some kind of deal with the vice- principal..."

He reached the office door and knocked politely.

"Hello?" he called. "It's me, Misawa. Is anyone there?"

"Come in," said the vice-principal's voice. He sounded rather tense, which Misawa didn't think was a good sign. He went in.

Napoleon was standing next to the principal's desk, holding a sheet of paper and looking somewhat awkward. The principal's chair, Misawa noted, was turned around backwards, so that he could not see who, if anyone, was sitting in it. The knowledge that there could be someone else in the room that he couldn't see made Misawa even more nervous than he already was.

"Come in, come in," said Napoleon with forced cheer. "We just have one little thing we need to clear up very quickly. It won't take but a moment. We just need to, um, go over this test you took on Monday..."

"Was there something wrong with it?" Misawa asked. He wondered if somehow, someone had gotten him flagged for cheating. It didn't seem likely, but since all the Whites were acting like lunatics lately...

In reply, Napoleon handed over the test paper. Misawa stared at it. There was a large red zero marked at the top, and every single answer was marked wrong. His jaw dropped. He looked from the paper to Napoleon and back again, but was unable to find any words to say. He turned the paper over as if expecting an explanation to be written there, but the back of the test was as white and inscrutable as the Society itself.

"This is impossible," he murmured.

"Nothing," said a voice, "is impossible when the Light is on your side."

The principal's chair spun around, revealing that Manjoume was sitting in it, looking very much at home. He was smiling that insane grin, his pupils contracted to pinpoints, as if he were staring into the sun.

"You!" Misawa snarled. "You're behind this! What did you do?"

"Just had a few friendly words with the vice-principal, here," said Misawa. "_He_ knows whose side to play on if he wants to win. Didn't Asuka tell you? You should listen to her; she's a lot smarter than you are."

"These answers aren't wrong," said Misawa, pointing at the test.

"Of course they're wrong! _You're_ wrong. Everything about you is wrong," said Manjoume, "including your test grades, from now on. And the rest of your grades on top of that. The only way you'll go right again is if you join the Society... and the only way we'll let you do that is if you find Master Saioh for us and bring him back. Otherwise, you can look forward to getting lots more test grades just like this one."

Misawa looked pleadingly at Napoleon. "You can't do this! You can't let them get away with this. It's... it's not fair!"

"I'm sorry," said the little man, "but, well... it's either you or them, and... it's just better this way. You understand. I have the good of the school to think of. Just be good and do what they say, and I'll make sure the grade gets changed back to what it should be. I'll even make sure any days you miss are excused while you go looking for him."

"Everyone around me has gone crazy!" Misawa shouted. "Why do I have to look for him? You all want him back so badly - why doesn't one of you go looking for him?"

"Because you're the one who sent him away," said Manjoume, as if speaking to a simpleton. "Master Saioh is a man of his word. He won't come back until you give him a pardon, so you have to go find him. There's a boat waiting for you down at the docks. Hop on and go looking for him. It's your only hope. You'll get everything back and more once you give us what _we_ want."

Misawa looked into Manjoume's wild eyes and decided then and there that the sooner he got away from these lunatics, the better.

"Fine," he said, slumping. "I give up. You win. I'll find Saioh."

"_Master_ Saioh," Manjoume corrected with a grin. "Bon voyage! Be sure to write."

Misawa shot him what he hoped was an icy, quelling look. It got absolutely no response. He gave up and stalked out of the room.

_Well, this is a fine mess I've gotten myself into! All I wanted was a little respect, and now look! Practically everyone in the school hates me, the people who do like me can't even get near me, and now the teachers are turned against me. I can't even get good grades anymore. I'm nothing. Zero. Wiped out. I can't believe these people could turn me into a nobody practically overnight..._ Then he thought, _Maybe I was nobody all along, and just never knew..._

That broke him. He stood on the sidewalk and let out a primal scream of utter frustration that made a few people stop and stare at him, and then head off for safer territory. When he finally ran out of air, he dropped to his knees and started beating his fists against the sidewalk.

"This - isn't - fair!" he said, punctuating each word with another hit on the ground. "I don't deserve this! I shouldn't be treated this way! I won that stupid duel - I'm better than any of them! I am a great duelist, I have perfect grades, I do everything right, so why can't I ever get what I deserve?"

"Did you ever think the fact that you're a whiny brat might have something to do with it?"

Misawa looked up and saw that there was only one person left watching him, and that was Ed Phoenix.

"I am not a whiny brat," said Misawa sulkily, face burning with embarrassment. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were bleeding slightly from being beaten on the concrete, and he wiped them off with his handkerchief.

"Suit yourself," said Ed. "So what brought on this little pity party? And is it private, or can someone else join in?"

"Why would you want to join? You've got it better than I do," Misawa muttered. "But since you ask, I've been ordered to leave the island and go looking for Saioh so I can apologize and ask him pretty please if he'll come back."

Ed's eyebrows rose slightly. "Is that so? Maybe I can help you with that."

"Ah," said Misawa. He looked at the boy skeptically. His experiences lately had left him feeling distrustful of anyone who wanted to "help" him. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Well, you know, Saioh's an old friend of mine. We've known each other since I we were both just kids," said Ed, looking slightly sheepish. "He's really not such a bad guy, or at least, he didn't used to be. I don't know what's gotten into him lately, but... I guess I'd like for someone to find him so I know he's okay."

Misawa was slightly nonplused; he had never considered the possibility that Saioh might have been a child once. There was just something ageless about him.

"Do you know where he might have gone?" he asked. It was suddenly occurring to him that searching the world for one reclusive man might be a difficult thing to do without a point in the right direction. After all, several days had passed since Saioh had gone, and he could be anywhere by now.

"I remember a few of his favorite haunts," Ed admitted. "I'll write them down for you. You know, I'd offer to come with you and all, but... something in my gut is telling me things are nastier here than wherever Saioh is now. I want to watch a while longer and see how the situation is shaping up."

"They're definitely up to something," Misawa agreed. No need to say who _they_ were. "But if you could help me with my, ah, current situation..."

"Got some paper?" asked Ed.

Misawa had paper, and also pencils. He always did. He handed these items to Ed, who wrote down a series of addresses and passed them back.

"There," he said. "If I were trying to find Saioh, that's where I'd be looking for him."

"Thank you," said Misawa. It was the most grateful he'd felt for anything in weeks. He looked down at the paper and saw the addresses of a few places in California and one in Japan.

"That's Saioh's house, my house, a few of his old favorite hangouts, and his old hometown. I'd try the California addresses first, though. He doesn't talk about his past much, but I kinda get the feeling he's not welcome back where he came from. I thought I'd put it in anyway, just in case."

"If he doesn't talk about it, how do you know where he comes from?" Misawa wondered.

Ed shrugged. "He works for me. I've got his legal papers."

"Oh. Right."

"Anyway, if all else fails," Ed murmured, half to himself, "you could always try the Angel's Peace Cemetery on Crestview Street."

"Come again?"

"It worked for me," said Ed. "Anyway, good luck."

"Thank you," said Misawa again.

The two of them went their separate ways - Ed to do whatever it was he did all day, and Misawa down to the docks to see if the promised boat was waiting for him.

It was. Misawa knew it at once - it was the only one that had been freshly painted in pure white paint. It appeared to be brand new, and he wondered vaguely if Manjoume had financed its purchase. After he'd gone to the bother of building an entire new wing onto the Osiris Red dorm, buying a nice boat for the purpose of fetching Saioh back didn't seem to be any great thing. Misawa boarded the boat warily and explored its facilities. Someone had kindly stocked it with food and water enough for several weeks, if Misawa was careful with it, and there were also a few containers of extra fuel. There were also two small rooms for sleeping - presumably one for him and one for Saioh, so the great master would not have to bunk with a nonbeliever. In the control room, there was a book of instructions. This was probably good, because Misawa had never actually tried to pilot a boat before.

_If Juudai can do it, I can do it,_ he told himself. Of course, if his understanding served him, Juudai had wound up running out of fuel and food and being stranded in the middle of the ocean until space aliens came to rescue him, and Misawa wasn't prepared to take a chance on any of that. He sat in the cabin and read the instructions. Only when he was sure he knew what he was doing did he take down a map and choose his destination.

"Here," he decided, letting his finger rest on a spot on the map. It marked a city in California, practically in the shadow of the Industrial Illusions headquarters. It was close to several of the destinations on his list, but that wasn't the only reason he picked it. Something seemed to be tugging him in that direction. He didn't know whether to call it instinct, Destiny, or desperation, but he didn't have much else to go on.

"One place is as likely as another," he told himself, and started the boat.

* * *

"Well, there he goes."

Juudai, relaxing in his favorite spot beneath a tree on the cliff, roused himself from a doze and saw Manjoume walking towards him, looking unaccountably smug.

"There who goes?" he asked, blinking in sleepy incomprehension.

"Don't you ever do anything but sleep?" Manjoume asked him in exasperation. "No wonder you won't see the Light. You spend all your time with your eyes closed. Look out over the ocean and see if you can't see something for a change."

Juudai dutifully looked, shading his eyes from the slanting afternoon sun. "Looks like a boat. What's so special about that?"

"Guess who's on it," said Manjoume.

"Umm..."

"Come on, it's not that hard."

"I give up. Who's on the boat?"

"Why, it's our old friend Misawa!"

"Misawa?" Juudai repeated. Then he came awake in an instant as comprehension dawned. "You sent him away!"

"We did no such thing," said Manjoume, assuming his most innocent expression. "He went voluntarily. It seems the Light finally pierced the darkness of his heart, and he was moved by a noble impulse to undo his mistakes."

"Or maybe you and your cronies bullied him into it," Juudai snapped.

Manjoume raised his chin a bit higher. "I fail to see the distinction."

"What do you mean? You guys have done nothing but pick on him since he won that stupid duel!" said Juudai. "You're just a bunch of sore losers."

"Don't blame us," said Manjoume. "It was _his_ idea to challenge Saioh. We weren't doing anything to him. We were leaving him alone. He would have been just fine if he hadn't decided to try to make fools of us."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to chase him off the island!" Juudai protested. "Even for _you_ that's low."

"We didn't chase him," said Manjoume. "He had a choice. He could have stayed here if he had wanted to, but apparently he thought he was better off elsewhere."

"Only because you and your friends were making life miserable for him!" Juudai snapped. "What a bunch of jerks!"

"Ah, ah, ah! That's not nice!" Manjoume answered calmly, wagging a finger at him. "You don't care what happens to him, anyway."

"What? Of course I care. Misawa is my friend," said Juudai.

"Sure, he's your friend - when you don't have to do anything for him," said Manjoume. "As long as he can look after himself, you're glad to be his friend, but as soon as he needs something from you - pssht! You vanish into thin air."

"That's not true! How can you say that? Maybe that's how you treat people where _you_ come from, but I'm always there when my friends need me!"

"Right," said Manjoume. "That's why your _friend_ is sailing away to parts unknown, all alone, with nobody to rely on but himself, and you've been sleeping under a tree the whole time. You didn't try very hard to help him, did you? The whole school was turned against him, and you just looked the other way. Wouldn't even talk to him..."

"We tried," said Juudai. "You wouldn't let him anywhere near us!"

"Excuses, excuses," Manjoume said. "You're a hero, right? You were the school champion - you were one of the keepers of the Star Gate Keys - you fought off Kagemaru and the Demon Cards. There must have been something you could do. So what if we made life a little difficult for you? You didn't have to give up!"

"The last time I tried to talk to him, some of your people got a choke-hold on him and told me to back off before he turned blue."

Manjoume waved a hand airily. "So we played a little rough. See, Juudai, that's just what I'm saying. You would have helped him if it was easy, but you just weren't up to the challenge. Come off it, Juudai. You've risked your life for your friends before. I've seen you do it. Why couldn't you do this, unless you weren't really his friend?"

"Well, umm..."

"That's what I thought," said Manjoume. "Well, just thought you should know what was going on. Have a lovely day."

Manjoume sauntered off, leaving Juudai looking thoughtful. He wandered back to his room and seated himself on the floor, staring out the window, lost in his own thoughts.

The shadows were lengthening by the time someone discovered him. Juudai almost didn't notice as Shou came clattering into the room, pitching his Duel Disk onto the bed and dumping his book bag onto the floor.

"Hey, Juudai, where were you? You missed a good practice," he said. "I totally creamed this one guy from Obelisk! Don't tell me you slept through it all again!"

"I was talking to Manjoume," Juudai said.

Shou blinked. "Why would you want to talk to him?"

"Well, he talked to me," Juudai corrected. "He told me Misawa left school today."

"Aw, man," said Shou. "Those guys must have finally run him out..."

"We should have done something," said Juudai.

"But we tried, remember? The more we tried to help him, the worse the hazing got," Shou pointed out reasonably. "If we'd kept getting in the way, who knows what they would have done to him?"

"Yeah, well, we didn't just have to give up!" said Juudai, in a sudden burst of temper. "Misawa was our friend, and now he's gone..."

"Yeah. It is kind of sad," Shou admitted. "I wonder if he'll come back?"

"I hope so," said Juudai with a sigh. He gazed back out the window again, though Misawa's boat was long gone. "I wonder what he's doing out there now?"

* * *

Misawa had spent the last few days looking out at the water. There frankly wasn't much else to do on a boat in the middle of nowhere, when the boat's direction was controlled by computers, and Misawa had neglected to bring along any books to keep himself entertained. Most of his day was spent leaning on the railing watching the waves roll by and brooding over his situation. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that he had been woefully wronged, that everyone was against him for no reason at all, and that he was generally the most put-upon person on the face of the earth. With nothing else to distract him from his troubles, he had a great deal of time to brood. He was feeling very sorry for himself indeed when at last he hit land.

His mood lifted a little when he was at last safely docked and exploring the city, but the rise in his optimism did not last long. He checked the first few places on his list with high hopes, but was disappointed time and time again. He grew ravenously hungry, but he had no money with him, and it was a long walk back to the boat to scrounge up some more tasteless traveling food. His feet ached from walking all over the city. He took to asking people he met if they had ever seen or heard of Saioh. While some of them knew of him, if only through stories of the strange man who always seemed to know what was going to happen before it happened, no one had seen him lately or knew where he was now. Misawa felt almost surprised by Saioh's anonymity here; on the island, he had gotten used to _everyone_ knowing who Saioh was, and being in a place where Saioh was a nonentity felt like being in the Twilight Zone. To top it all off, the day that had begun warm and sunny was now becoming overcast, and the world looked as gloomy as Misawa felt.

_He's not here,_ he thought, _and I've wasted all this time following a dead-end trail. So much for trusting my instincts! I knew there was no such thing as destiny..._

The sun was setting as Misawa decided to give up for the day and head back to his boat to get some sleep and consider his next course of action. At a street corner, he paused a moment to take his bearings. He didn't have a map, but he had been careful to note which direction the harbor was, and he had a pretty fair idea of where he needed to go to get back to it.

_I should be angling a little more to the west, I believe... and this looks like a nice quiet street. I'll go this way a while._

It really was a nice street, quieter and shadier than the ones he had been traversing earlier. If he hadn't been so tired and despondent, and if the sky hadn't been so dark and cloudy, Misawa might have even enjoyed the walk. As it was, he wasn't paying much attention to anything but the pain in his feet and the emptiness in his stomach as he trudged along. He didn't even notice when the hedges and trees he was walking beside were replaced by an iron rail fence. He did notice, however, when a car rolled past him, and its headlights illuminated the scenery beyond the fence for an instant. It was enough to make him stop and stare. Squinting into the shadows, he made out a series of blocky pale shapes.

_Tombstones? No wonder this road is so empty..._

Misawa picked up his pace. He was not superstitious, and the idea of walking past a graveyard in the dark didn't disturb him particularly. He was, however, curious to check out a hunch, so when he reached the end of the block, instead of turning towards the coastline, he turned in the other direction and headed for the cemetery gates. Sure enough, a sign flanked by two stone statues of winged women declared it to be the Angel's Peace Cemetery. Misawa peered thoughtfully through the gates at the dark rows of tombstones, wondering if anyone would really be in there at this time of day. Still, as long as he was there, it wouldn't hurt to take a look. He gently pushed the gates open, slipped inside, and closed them behind him.

It was, if anything, even darker inside the cemetery than it was outside. At least along the road there were the occasional passing cars and the distant gleam of city lights, but the cemetery was well removed from such things, and a few trees scattered here and there helped to block out what little light there might have been. The only illumination was a diffuse glow from the cloud- hidden moon. It was silent, too. There wasn't even a breath of wind to make the leaves rustle.

_There's no one here,_ he thought. _If they were here, I'd hear them breathing._

He continued walking anyway, peering into the shadows for any sign of human life. At one point, his eye was drawn to a stone with the name "Phoenix" etched into it, and wondered briefly if this was where Ed's father had been laid to rest, but he had no way of knowing for certain. He turned away from it and continued walking. Eventually, he came to a small clearing where a bench had been placed next to the path, in the shade of the trees.

There was someone on the bench.

Misawa stopped and stared. No, his eyes weren't playing tricks on him - there really was a young man lying there, curled up on his side as if cold, though the weather was balmy. One arm was draped over his eyes, but what could be seen of his face was pale and gaunt, with sunken cheeks. His clothing was pure white, contrasting with his hair, which looked black in the shadows.

Misawa's first panicked thought was, _Great Scott, he's dead!_ Then he saw that Saioh's chest was rising and falling slightly. For whatever reason, the man was taking a nap in a cemetery at night. Misawa wondered about this for a moment before deciding that Saioh did enough strange things that this one didn't merit worrying about.

"Saioh," he called. "Er... Master Saioh? Could you please wake up for a minute?"

Saioh stirred. He sat up and stretched languorously, and brushed his hair into place with a graceful two-handed gesture. Then he opened his eyes. They glittered faintly in the dark. As they focused on Misawa, an expression of sadness crept into them.

"So. We meet again," he said softly.

Misawa was not sure what to say. He settled for, "Yes."

"I thought you might find me eventually," said Saioh. He gave a sigh that suggested all the troubles of the world were on his mind. "I am sorry you had to come looking for me in a place like this."

"What are you doing here?" Misawa asked him.

"Nothing. Only thinking. I came here for the quiet and solitude, and it seems I must have dozed off," Saioh answered. With a rueful smile, he said, "I'm afraid I have very little to do now but sit and think. I don't have friends here as I did on Academy Island."

"Ah, yes," said Misawa awkwardly. "About that..."

Saioh shook his head sadly. Fixing his soulful gaze on Misawa he asked softly, "Why did you send me away, Misawa? Don't you know I never meant you any harm?"

"Well, I... I don't know."

"Are you happy with your choice?"

"No," Misawa admitted. "Everything has gone wrong since you went away."

Saioh smiled at him - a gentle, forgiving smile. "That's all right. It isn't too late to make everything right again. Come here. Sit by me."

Misawa sat. The stone was warm where Saioh had been sleeping on it, not cold and uncomfortable as he would have thought a stone bench in a cemetery at night would be. Saioh turned slightly so that he could look Misawa in the eye, and assumed a posture of listening, folding his hands in his lap.

"Now, tell me," he said, "what have I done to make you want me to leave? Have I offended you in some way?"

"No, not exactly," said Misawa. "I just... Why didn't you try to recruit me into the Society? Wasn't I good enough for you?"

"Weren't you good enough? Did you think we didn't challenge you because we thought you were too weak? The contrary - no one challenged you because I knew you would _win_. If no one challenged you, it was because I knew there was no one in my Society who was capable of making you join us by force, so I simply waited and hoped you would come to us voluntarily. What on earth would make you believe that you aren't good enough?"

"But everyone else seems to think so," Misawa protested. "Everyone ignores me. I just don't get any respect. I _know_ I'm a great duelist, but somehow, I never seem to get my share of the spotlight. Everyone pays attention to Juudai, or Manjoume, or the Kaiser. I don't understand it! What do I have to do to get people to notice me?"

"I notice you," said Saioh. "Even my enlightened followers are capable of making mistakes, but I have the Sight, and the clear white light shows me the things that are hidden to most people. I know you for what you are - a powerful duelist with a brilliant mind who deserves the admiration of his peers. You are the kind of person I want as part of my organization. A high post in the Society is yours for the asking, if you want it."

Misawa gave him a skeptical look. "It's that easy? I just say, 'Let me join your Society' and I'm in?"

"Of course. I have been waiting and hoping for that very thing," Saioh replied. "Join me and you will have what you deserve: a place of command in the Society and the admiration - no, the _adulation_ of your peers. The Society of Light is the gateway to everything you need and want, Misawa Daichi. And I need a strong ally like you to help me. You've seen for yourself - even the strongest duelist in the Society can't stand up to you. I have no one with your talent or intelligence to stand at my side and help me to do my work. You can help me. I can help you. It's that simple."

"I'm still not sure I want to be part of a society," said Misawa.

"Are you not?" Saioh rose to his feet, turning his gaze to the sky. Even as he did so, the clouds parted, allowing the moon to peek out and drench the area where he was standing in moonlight. The white light gleamed off his clothing and fair skin, and even his hair took on a luster. He glowed like some holy being. He turned his face towards the moon, gazing into the light with a look of rapture.

"Can't you see how beautiful it is?" he murmured. He turned slightly to address his audience of one. "Listen to me, Misawa. I used to be like you - despised by all those around me, who feared and envied me because of my gifts, because they knew deep down that I was better than them. It wasn't until I saw the Light that I was able to tap into my full potential. I want to do the same for you. It is your destiny. You know instinctively that you are missing something. In your heart, you ache to step into the spotlight and be seen by all for what you truly are. All your struggles to understand and predict the patterns around you - all your logic and your calculations and mathematics - all of this is only a symptom of your desire for the True Light that reveals all things for what they are. Once you have seen the Light, there will be nothing you cannot know or understand. Even the future will be an open book. That's what you want, isn't it? To know, to understand, and to be recognized. All you need is the Light."

Misawa stared, captivated. He had lived his life as a devotee of facts and logic, and the religious ecstasy in Saioh's expression was a reflection of something Misawa had never felt before, something that now looked mysteriously enticing. His mind was full of glittering images. He knew, unquestionably, that all he had to do was accept Saioh's offer, and his whole life would turn around.

"Go on," Saioh murmured. "You know what you have to do."

As if in a dream, Misawa rose to his feet, stepping out of the shade and into the moonlight. He dropped to one knee before Saioh and bowed his head, as he had seen the other White students do.

"Let me join the Society," he said.

"Do not bow your head," answered Saioh gently. "Raise your eyes and look at me."

Two hands, cool and smooth as porcelain, reached down to cup Misawa's face, guiding him to look upward, so that his eyes met Saioh's. They seemed to be glowing with violet light... Was it violet? There was a spark of something else there, a pure white light that increased steadily the longer he looked at it. It was bright, too bright, more than his eyes could stand, and he felt a twinge as his pupils contracted to pinpoints, but still the light bore down on him, and he could not blink or turn away. It forced its way past his eyes, into his mind, filling every corner of his being until he thought he might be crowded out of existence by it. There was no room inside him for anything else but light, and for a moment he couldn't even breathe...

Then his body stopped fighting the light, and it sank and settled into place like water in a sponge, and with the relief came a sense of euphoria. His aches and pains were gone, his mind felt clear, and his body felt refreshed and suffused with energy. Even his hunger and thirst abated. He had never felt so alive, or so perfectly at one with the universe.

"Do you feel that?" asked Saioh.

"Yes... It's wonderful..."

"Congratulations. You are now a member of the Society of Light. You may rise."

Misawa hesitated, afraid that the wonderful feeling of connection and completion would fade if he moved. He also found he had a strange compulsion to remain kneeling to the man who had done him this tremendous favor, but he also didn't want to disobey him, either. He stood up. The feeling remained with him, warm and exhilarating. It gave him a drunken sense of being able to do _anything_.

"Are we going to go back to the island now, Master Saioh?" he asked hopefully. He couldn't wait to get back to Duel Academia and show everyone his new and improved status.

"Of course," said Saioh, setting a hand on Misawa's shoulder. "By all means, let us return to your ship. While we travel, I will teach you the secrets known only to the enlightened, so that when you arrive on the island, you will be ready to take a place of prestige in the Society."

"I'm ready to learn whatever you have to teach me, Master Saioh," said Misawa eagerly, falling in step alongside his new teacher.

"Of course you are," said Saioh.

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Temperance

**Chapter 2 - Temperance**

**By: SilvorMoon**

Manjoume was enjoying the sunshine. That was the best place for a worshiper of the light, and far be it from him to neglect his duties! Of course, he had a subordinate standing next to him holding a white parasol, so that he could enjoy the sunshine without it burning his fair skin. He relaxed on a deck chair on the lawn in front of the Obelisk dorm, sipping a vanilla milkshake (the only thing worth drinking on a warm day, in his opinion) and generally enjoying himself. Naturally, he was loyal to Saioh and the Society, and would never dream of saying that things had been better since Saioh had gone away, but he would have admitted when pressed that he rather liked being the leader of the Society.

_Mm, I could get used to this,_ he thought contentedly, as another of the junior members took his empty glass and replaced it with a fresh one. _Maybe when Saioh is ready to take the Society outside of Academy Island, he'll let me stay here and keep things running smoothly. This would be a nice way to spend my senior year..._

Asuka came strolling up the sidewalk, carrying a sheaf of papers. Manjoume smiled up at her as she came to stand next to him. She took her duties to the Society very seriously, and since Saioh had told her to obey Manjoume while he was gone, that was what she did. Manjoume had to admit that even though she maintained a strictly businesslike demeanor, having her at his beck and call was still pleasant.

"What have you got to report?" he asked.

"We've managed twelve more conversions today," answered Asuka. "Most of them from Ra, but two of them were Obelisk holdouts."

"Only two?"

"There aren't very many left. The ones who haven't given in yet are extremely stubborn. I've almost given up on making my brother see reason, but there always was something a little odd about him," said Asuka regretfully.

"We'll get to him," Manjoume assured her. "What about the Ra students? How many of those are left?"

"About half. Perhaps less. We're picking up the pace since Misawa left. It's exactly like Master Saioh predicted - no one wants to end up like he did. They're practically fighting each other to be the first in line. Do you think it would be a good idea to start recruiting in the Osiris dorm? We wouldn't want to miss anyone."

"Hmm... Well, they wouldn't contribute much to the Society, but it would be worth it to cut the support out from under that Juudai's feet. Those red-jackets worship him. Besides, I want Saioh to see what great strides we've made for the Society in his absence. Ideally we'll have the whole island under control by the time he gets back."

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "And how is sitting on the lawn drinking milkshakes contributing to the cause?"

"I'm on lunch break."

"Oh."

Manjoume took a sip of his drink. "Just let me finish this, and I'll take over for you for a few hours. I'll check up on the last of those blue-coated dissenters and lean on them a little - see if I can't teach them what's good for them."

"Here's a list," said Asuka, passing him a paper.

Manjoume began scanning the list, picking out likely conquests. He had a particular dislike of Obelisks who wouldn't convert, partly stemming from a half-forgotten sense that they had looked down on him once, and partly out of an annoyance with them for inhabiting the building that had been rightfully claimed as Society headquarters. If they were going to live here and enjoy its luxuries, they ought to convert. There would be no freeloading on his watch, not if he could help it!

Even as he was thinking that, a new arrival rushed up the sidewalk and knelt at Manjoume's side.

"Important news!" the boy declared. "We've just sighted a boat sailing this way - the one you loaned to Misawa."

"You're sure of that?" asked Manjoume.

The boy nodded. Manjoume leapt to his feet, both the paper and his milkshake forgotten.

"Then we need to get moving," he declared. "You! Round up the rest of the Society as fast as you can, and tell them to be waiting at the docks. Master Saioh is returning!"

The boy's eyes widened. "You're sure? How do you know Misawa didn't fail?"

"How dare you question my judgement? The Light reveals all. If I say Master Saioh is coming back, then he's coming back! Now scram!"

"Yes, sir!" the boy replied. He sprang into action, running toward the dorm shouting, "Hey, everyone! Hit the docks on the double! Master Saioh is on the way!" Manjoume watched him go before turning his attention back to Asuka.

"Well, what do you think?" he said. "Should we be the first to welcome our master home?"

"I think that would be fitting," she replied.

"What are you smiling about?"

"I just think it's fun to watch you giving orders, that's all. It's nice to see you pulling your weight once in a while."

"Hmph. See, I told you I can get things done," said Manjoume, looking unaccountably pleased.

"Well, maybe you can." Asuka fell in step alongside him, and the two of them strolled down to the docks to wait for their ship to come in.

Within about fifteen minutes, the Society of Light had descended on the dock and the beach like a flock of seagulls, milling around in an attempt to get the best view of the boat. Naturally Manjoume and Asuka had the best seats in the house, right next to an empty boat slip where they would be the first to greet Saioh as he stepped onto the pier. The rest of the group had to make do with whatever they could get; a few more daring or excitable sorts even scampered up lamp posts to get a better view.

Amid all this chaos, a single incongruous figure was winding his way through the crowd. Despite the number of people attempting to do the very thing he was doing, somehow he was making steady progress towards the front of the assembly, until at last he was standing at the forefront of the group next to the two Society leaders.

"Hey, guys," said Juudai. "What's going on?"

"We're waiting for that boat," said Manjoume, gesturing at the rapidly nearing vessel. "Master Saioh is returning to us. Your buddy Misawa is probably with him," he added as an afterthought.

"Hey, that's awesome!" said Juudai, his expression brightening.

Manjoume just smirked. "Oh, you think so, do you? Think your old pal is gonna be glad to see you again? Well, why don't you just hang out here for a little while so you can be the first to say hello to him when he arrives?"

"Okay!" said Juudai cheerfully. He sat down on the edge of the dock and kicked his heels while he watched the boat sail closer. Manjoume watched him contemptuously.

_Oh, you just sit there and wait, Juudai. Won't you be surprised when you see what kind of greeting you get from your so-called friend!_

Within moments, the boat glided into the harbor, and several helpful students hurried to help moor it. A ramp was lowered, and, as the crowd held its breath in anticipation, Saioh made his slow descent. As his foot touched solid ground, everyone on the pier dropped to their knees - except for Juudai, who continued to sit and swing his feet, apparently not the least bit interested. Manjoume glared at him out of the corner of his eye and quelled the urge to ruin the solemn moment by pushing Juudai into the water.

"Welcome back, Master," he murmured. "We've missed you."

"As I have missed you all," Saioh replied graciously. "I am deeply grateful that Destiny has seen fit to allow me to return. I am even more pleased to announce that I have brought with me a new addition to our little family."

He turned and beckoned, and a second figure stepped into view. He was dressed all in white, and his eyes gleamed with fanatical energy. Manjoume enjoyed the shocked look on Juudai's face as it registered who the newcomer was. The rest of the Society, however, was not quite so enthusiastic.

"Hey, what's the deal?" asked one of the more outspoken members. "He's the one who sent you away in the first place!"

"Misawa has seen the Light," Saioh replied. "He is a new man, one who has achieved a high degree of enlightenment. He has realized his mistakes, haven't you, Misawa?"

"I have, Master Saioh. I regret that I ever spoke out against the Society. The Light is the only route to true happiness and understanding!"

"You see?" said Saioh to the crowd. "He is one of us now!"

"And proud of it," Misawa agreed. He raised a fist in the air. "Hail the Light! Hail the Society! Hail Master Saioh!"

The crowd took up the chant. Whether or not they accepted Misawa's conversion, they agreed with what he was saying. They were always ready to cheer for themselves and their master. While they were enjoying their pep rally, Juudai rushed up the ramp and stood in front of Misawa, trying to get him to lower his fist.

"What's gotten into you?" he demanded. "Don't you remember how these guys treated you? What the heck do you want to join them for?"

Misawa gave Juudai a blank look. "Whose side do you want me to be on? Yours? You never did anything for me. Master Saioh reached out to me and showed me the truth! The Society did me a favor in sending me to him."

"A _favor_? You're out of your mind!" Juudai exclaimed. "Saioh brainwashed you like he did everyone else! You've gotta snap out of it!"

"Brainwashed? Don't be preposterous. I haven't been brainwashed. I know exactly what I'm doing. As a matter of fact, ever since Saioh showed me the Light, I understand more than I ever did before! _You're_ the one who understands nothing."

With that, he pushed roughly past Juudai and went to rejoin his master on the pier. Juudai, more occupied with staring at Misawa than paying attention to what he was doing, slipped off the ramp and fell into the water. Manjoume snickered quietly.

_He might be a patsy, but he'll be fun to have around,_ he decided. He went to stand next to Saioh as well.

"Do you have any orders for us, Master?" he asked with a bow.

"Yes. Miss Asuka, have someone escort our newest member back to the dormitory, and arrange for a room to be prepared for him. See that he is issued a uniform. Misawa, stay with Asuka for now, until your room is ready. She will escort you and tell you everything you need to know. I will want to speak to you again, but not until later. I need to make some preparations first."

"Should I send someone to fetch him for you when you're ready?" asked Asuka helpfully.

"No, there will be no need for that. I will go to him," Saioh decided. "Manjoume, I am returning to my chambers. See to it that someone fetches my bags, and be sure they are delivered safely to me. I will be waiting for you. I want a full report of everything that has happened on the island in my absence."

"Yes, Master Saioh," said Manjoume, barely able to hide a self-satisfied smile. "I'll get right on that."

Saioh departed, walking through the crowd of admirers who reached out their hands to him as he passed by, and he graciously paused from time to time, folding his hands around theirs and murmuring inspirational words. Asuka and Misawa followed in his wake, with Asuka looking serious and dignified as usual, and Misawa looking pleased to be at the center of so much attention.

_So much for my vacation,_ Manjoume thought, _but it's good to have the master back._

"You, you, and you," he said, pointing to three of the nearby students. "Head up there and get the suitcases, and make it snappy! I'm going to be watching you the whole time, so no fooling around, either!"

The boys hustled to do Manjoume's bidding. He followed up the ramp, casting a superior glance at Juudai, who was in the process of trying to pull himself back on dry land. It amused Manjoume to think that around here, people were more concerned about Saioh's spare clothes than whether or not Juudai drowned in the harbor. Manjoume himself had an interest in keeping Saioh's clothes safe; there had been some difficulty in the early days of the Society involving a pair of overenthusiastic young ladies who had taken it into their heads to purloin a few pairs of Saioh's underwear. Attempting to confiscate the contraband had not been fun.

Once he was certain that all Saioh's luggage had been safely gathered, Manjoume escorted his helpers back to the White dorm, and up the stairs to the room where Saioh had made his home. It was a strangely satisfying task, probably because he got to strut along proudly in front while the poor luggage carriers had to struggle and grunt behind him as the hauled the heavy cases. Naturally, none of them would dare complain or even wonder what it was that Saioh had deemed necessary to carry with him that could weigh so much.

"Come on, guys, we're almost there!" he called cheerfully. "Just one more flight to go!"

At last they reached the top floor, and Manjoume rapped importantly on Saioh's door while his sweaty and panting helpers attempted to catch their collective breath.

"Leave my bags just inside the door," said Saioh's voice. He never had any need to ask who was outside. "Manjoume, you may come in."

"You heard the master," Manjoume told his helpers. "Move the bags and get outta here."

The other boys did as they were told. Manjoume waited until they were safely out of his way before stepping into Saioh's chambers. For once, Saioh was not seated at the table where he seemed to spend most of his time consulting with his cards, but relaxing on the windowseat. Apparently he could grow weary from a long journey and want to unwind for a while. Manjoume closed the door behind him before going to kneel in his accustomed place beside him.

"Welcome home, Master Saioh," he murmured. "I take it everything went as planned?"

"Everything went as it was destined to," Saioh replied. "He swallowed the bait readily enough. He believed everything I told him."

"How long do you plan to keep up the ruse?" asked Manjoume. "I mean, he's bound to figure out sooner or later that we're not actually all falling at his feet." Privately, Manjoume was hoping he wouldn't be required to cringe and kowtow before Misawa just to keep up the illusion that people actually thought he was something special.

"He will not figure it out," Saioh assured him. "I'll give him a few toys to keep him occupied - present him with a new deck, let him win a few duels, perhaps persuade a few of the more attractive young women in the Society to take an interest in him..."

"Not Asuka!" To anyone else, Manjoume would have made that into an order, but to Saioh, it came out as a plea.

"Not Asuka," Saioh agreed mildly. "There are plenty of other eligible ladies whose assistance I can call upon. You know I would not test your loyalty to that extent, and she is too valuable as my aide for me to waste her on such a minor task."

"Just checking."

"Have faith in me, Manjoume. You must not let your devotion to her cloud your judgement. The good of the Society must come first."

"Of course, Master Saioh. I apologize."

Saioh waved a hand dismissively. "None of us are perfect, even those who have been enlightened. When the day comes when all people have been brought into the light, only then will we be able to achieve perfect unity and understanding with each other. Then your heart's desire will be attained. Until then, focus your thoughts on the Light, and on keeping such distractions at bay."

Manjoume's eyes lit up. "You think someday she'll finally accept me?"

"Someday the two of you will be united in the glory of the light," Saioh promised. "This is Destiny."

Manjoume flushed with pleasure. "Thank you, Master Saioh!"

"Don't thank me. I do not control Destiny; I only reveal what is to come," Saioh replied. "All I can do is fulfil my role in the greater scheme of things. The same is true for you. So, Manjoume, have you been dutiful in carrying out your part of our plan?"

"Yes, Master Saioh. I talked to Juudai, just like you told me to," Manjoume replied. "It's hard to tell how much makes it through that thick head of his, but I think something must have stuck. He's been quiet lately." He couldn't resist a snicker. "But did you see the look on his face when Misawa pushed him in the water? Classic!"

"Crude, but effective," Saioh murmured. "I think we will give the esteemed Yuki Juudai a few days to let the truth sink in before we make any further moves. Your task in the meantime is to continue overseeing our recruitment efforts. Also, be certain that there is no one in the Society who shows any outward hostility towards our newest member. I believe that most of them will accept him now that he has converted to our cause, but there will always be a few to hold grudges. It would do no harm to start a rumor that currying favor with him would be a good way to get into _my_ good graces."

"But you aren't actually going to put him in a position of power, are you?" asked Manjoume. He wasn't just trying to clarify the plan; he was motivated by self-interest as well. He liked his place as Saioh's second-in-command, and wasn't interested in competition.

"Of course not," said Saioh. "But since keeping him happy will facilitate my plan..."

"Right. I get it," Manjoume replied, nodding.

"It will only be for a few days," Saioh assured him. "Just long enough to firmly sever his ties with Yuki Juudai."

Manjoume grinned wickedly. "And then the fun part. Don't worry, Master Saioh! You can count on me!"

"There is never any need to worry when you know Destiny is on your side," Saioh answered. "Go now. I have some preparations to make, still, before I can set our friend Misawa aside and concentrate on more important matters. In a day or two, though, I will have a small reward for you, in return for your loyal service."

"No reward necessary. It's reward enough to be able serve you, Master Saioh," said Manjoume humbly, while thinking happy thoughts about what his reward might be.

"Even so, some small token of recognition seems appropriate. You've more than earned it."

"Thank you, Master."

With the formalities concluded, Manjoume went on his way in an excellent mood. He was pleased to have his master back. He was thrilled to have confirmation that he and Asuka were truly meant for each other. He had a reward from Saioh to look forward to, which sounded promising indeed - maybe his daydreams about being given permanent control over the island were closer to reality than he realized. Anything Saioh chose to reward him with was bound to be good. To top it all off, he had the fruition of Saioh's plan to anticipate as well. Naturally he was looking forward to seeing Juudai get his comeuppance - what had Manjoume joined the Society for, after all, if not to prove his superiority over Juudai? He didn't care much for Misawa, either. He was absolutely certain Misawa had done something to him in the past, if only he could remember it. It had annoyed him a great deal, whatever it was. Something about beating him in a duel, but there had been more to it than that, and his brain was showing a remarkable resistance to remembering the rest of the story. Whatever the issue had been, he would relish watching Misawa take a fall almost as much as he would enjoy bringing Juudai down. Yes, the next few days were going to be good.

Meanwhile, Saioh stayed where he was, looking out the window. The sun had set while he was chatting with Manoume, and now the leader of the Society of Light was looking up at the moon and the stars. He preferred nights in the city, where there was enough electrical light to make the world shine bright as day even at midnight, but there was something to be said for island nights. It was easier to see the celestial lights from here. Having lived in cities for most of his life, he was surprised as how bright the world was, even at night.

_So pleasant to be back where I'm wanted,_ he thought. He hadn't realized how used he'd gotten to the adoring company of his Society until he'd undertaken his voluntary exile. It was easy to see how weaker souls than himself could become hooked on that kind of adulation. There were some advantages to being worshiped as a god. Fortunately he had other interests besides putting himself on a pedestal.

_Unlike some people around here._

Winning Misawa over had been pathetically easy. For someone with such a tremendous ego and such an overwhelming lust for attention, all it took was a few promises and a bit of flattery, and he had been falling all over himself for more. It was amazing what people would stoop to, just to hear a few empty words.

People like Manjoume, for example. That was another amazing thing: that someone could know without a doubt that Saioh was lying blatantly to Misawa, and yet it would never cross his mind that Saioh might be lying to _him_ as well, even when it was almost the exact same lie. Promise someone power, admiration, and the amorous attention of their lust object of choice, and use a touch of psychic power to induce a state of religious ecstacy that would cloud their reasoning... there didn't seem to be anyone who didn't become drunk off their first taste of that potent cocktail.

_As if it makes a difference whether you win over your pretty friend Asuka or not,_ thought Saioh, with a wry smile. _In the end, the world will end in a final burst of white light, and we will all be purified by it - vaporized into pure white light. That is all you have to hope for. Someday we will all become one, united in the Light..._

But in the meantime, he had work to do, if this glorious vision was to come to pass. What a pity he had to do so much while he was still weary from his journey. An ocean voyage in a small boat, even the comparatively comfortable one that Manjoume had supplied for his use, was not his idea of fun. Being vaporized into white light was starting to sound like a better idea all the time; it would relieve him of the job of attempting to look compassionate and all-knowing while fending off seasickness. With a sigh, he got to his feet and returned to work.

* * *

"_Achoo!_"

Shou and Kenzan, sprawled on the floor of Juudai's room, looked up from their card game to see a sopping wet and slightly seaweed-draped boy in a red uniform come slouching in.

"Aniki! What happened to you?" Shou exclaimed.

"Yeah, are you okay?" asked Kenzan, not about to be outdone in sympathy.

"I dunno," said Juudai. He kicked off his wet shoes and squidged over to the closet to dig out some dry clothes. "I got pushed off the pier into the water."

"Who did it?" Kenzan demanded. "You just show him to me and I'll..." He trailed off and made a twisting motion with his two fists, as if they were wrapped around the unfortunate someone's neck.

"I don't want you to do that," said Juudai, as he stripped off his sodden uniform and began pulling on his spare. With his shirt halfway over his head, his next words were slightly muffled: "See, it was Misawa that pushed me."

Shou stared. "Could you say that again? I thought you said Misawa pushed you."

"He did," said Juudai, tugging on a pair of clean pants. "He's back."

"So why did he push you off the pier?" asked Kenzan. "If you ask me, I still oughta wring his neck."

"He was with Saioh. I mean, he's _with_ Saioh. White suit and everything." Juudai pulled on a fresh red jacket and shoved everything else into the laundry hamper. "Even after the way those people treated him, he still thinks he's on the right side, and when I tried to talk to him, he said I didn't understand anything and pushed me into the ocean!"

"I've had just about enough of this Saioh guy," said Kenzan. "Maybe I oughta think about wringing _his_ neck."

"You'd never get near him," Shou pointed out. "You'd have to fight through half the school before you could lay a finger on him. Even you aren't up to that."

"I guess not," said Kenzan. "Might not be such a good idea anyway. Seems like everyone who gets near him loses it. Just because I got lucky last time..."

Juudai sighed. "So that's another friend gone. First Manjoume, then Asuka, and now Misawa. This is getting out of control."

"You won't lose us," said Shou determinedly. "I don't care what that guy does - he'll never tear you and me apart!"

"Us neither," Kenzan agreed.

Juudai gave a weak smile. "Thanks, guys. I know you won't run out on me. Still..."

"What?"

"I feel like I should have done something. I mean, Saioh's screwing up everything on the island, and, well... what have I really done to stop him? I mean, these are my friends we're talking about."

"Hey, how were you supposed to know what was going on?" said Kenzan. "It ain't like Saioh put up a sign when he got here that said 'I'm gonna make everyone on the island go crazy!'"

"Yeah, when it started, we just thought it was Manjoume being weird," said Shou.

Juudai looked downcast. "Manjoume says it's my fault Misawa left the island."

"Manjoume says soy sauce ought to be outlawed," Kenzan pointed out. "You can't believe anything he says."

"Yeah, he's just trying to mess with your head," Shou said. "Don't listen to him, Aniki. All he ever does lately is do whatever Saioh tells him."

"I guess you're right," said Juudai.

"Better to not get involved," Kenzan advised. "If you start getting in Saioh's way, he might do the whitewash thing to you, too!"

"That would never happen," said Shou. "He'd have to beat Aniki in a duel, first, and he wouldn't be able to do it!"

That earned a genuine smile from Juudai. "At least it would be exciting!"

"Hey," said Kenzan, "if people get whitewashed when they lose a duel with one of these Society types, do you think beating Saioh at a duel might make things go back to normal?"

"No idea!" Juudai replied honestly.

Still, if the opportunity to duel "one of these Society types" presented itself, he wasn't about to turn it down.

* * *

Misawa was settling into his new room. The living spaces in Obelisk, he decided, were much better suited to him than those in the old Ra dorm - far more spacious and better-furnished. He liked having a widescreen television and a private bath and his own personal fridge in his room. His room in particular was considered a prime spot, a fact that was impressed upon him largely by the whispers and envious glances bestowed on him while he was moving in. The rooms on this side of the dorm were considered better because they had a better view, encompassing the lake and the ocean beyond, while those on the other side of the dorm were largely obstructed by trees and the side of the volcano. Upstairs rooms were also considered better than the lower ones, not only for the view, but because they were closer to Saioh's room. All in all, it was a very satisfactory arrangement.

"Just put those over there," he called lazily from his place on the bed, as a few white- jacketed freshmen came in carrying boxes of books.

"Yes, sir!" they answered.

"Be sure to put them in alphabetical order! And don't try to cram them in too tightly - I don't want them damaged. Has anyone fetched my computer yet?"

"They're on their way!" one of the boys assured him. He was a second-year, who appeared to have been put in charge of overseeing the move. "And we sent someone down to the kitchen to get some things to stock the fridge. Is there anything in particular you like best? Just write it down and we'll get it for you!"

"Got the stereo plugged in!" came an announcement from the far end of the room. "I can program your favorite stations for you, if you want."

There was a dull tapping at the door, as of someone with their hands full who has been forced to knock with their foot. Someone rushed to let in two boys carrying a computer, monitor, and an assortment of peripherals.

"Where do you want all this stuff?" one asked. The other said nothing, as he had a keyboard and mouse tucked under his chin, and the slightest movement posed a danger of dislodging them.

"Don't drop it," Misawa ordered. "Put it over there - or better yet, move that desk so it's closer to the window and put it there."

"Yes sir!"

"You over there - set the radio to the classical station."

"Right away!"

"And you - bring me a pen and some paper so I can write that list for you."

"You got it, Misawa!"

He settled back on his bed and watched as everyone scampered to obey his orders. This was more like it!

_I should have done this a long time ago! This was the kind of life I was meant to live. And it's only going to get better from here - if this is how they treat me when I've just arrived, I can't wait to see what happens when I've had a chance to prove myself!_ Already he was entertaining notions of replacing Manjoume as Saioh's most favored disciple. Surely there would be a few added perks for someone occupying such a lofty position, particularly once Saioh was ready to take his operation outside the bounds of Academy Island. Saioh had made it clear that he would be content with nothing less than spreading his influence worldwide. Being second only to the most powerful man in the world didn't sound bad at all...

He watched with smug satisfaction as people scurried around the room, putting things in order for him, occasionally leaping off on a new task whenever Misawa issued an order. Just as things were settling down (the only job left was overseeing getting a lamp set up so as to provide the best light, and a team of helpers were carefully tilting the lampshade as if its placement mattered profoundly) there was a light tap on the door.

"Might I come in?" asked Saioh.

Misawa bounded off the bed and went to assume a more dignified position in a nearby chair.

"Of course, Master Saioh," he said.

The door opened, and Saioh stepped inside. He gave the room an appraising glance, as if he had never seen one like it, and nodded with something like approval.

"You appear to be settling in nicely," he said. "I knew you would fit right in here. Is everything to your liking so far?"

"Everything is splendid," Misawa assured him.

"Excellent." Turning to the other students, Saioh said, "Leave off of that for a while. Misawa and I require a moment to speak in private."

The boys bowed as one and hurried out of the room. Saioh closed the door behind him and went to take a seat on the sofa across from Misawa. Misawa, knowing the protocol by now, obediently moved to kneel before his master, but Saioh waved him away.

"There is no need for formalities," Saioh said. "We are both tired from our long journey, and there is only you and me here. We can speak to each other as equals."

Misawa felt a glow of pride; Saioh was calling him his equal! "Thank you, Master Saioh."

"It is nothing. I primarily came to see if everyone has been treating you well, and to be sure there was nothing you are lacking, save for your uniform. Also, I wanted to give you a gift."

"I assure you, everything is very much to my liking," Misawa assured him.

"Excellent. I had feared that some jealous people might hold a grudge against you for rising so quickly in the ranks after being such a vociferous opponent toward us before. Even with my assurance that you have turned over a new leaf, there will always be a few petty people who can't recognize genius because they are blinded by envy."

"So far, everyone has been perfectly respectful," said Misawa.

"Very good. If anyone gives you any trouble, just send them to me. I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting you. While I'm sure you could handle any problems by yourself, you have better things you could be doing with your time, and it is my job to discipline my followers."

"If anyone tries anything, I will report it to you instantly," said Misawa. Privately, he was relishing the idea of catching a few of the people who had given him a hard time before his conversion and giving them a little payback. Having them fawning over them now was nice, but if they weren't going to do that, it would be fun to have an excuse to make them squirm a little. After all, he was a member of the Society of Light now, and he deserved to be treated with at least the same amount of respect as everyone else.

"I trust you will. There must be no insubordination in the ranks if the Society is to remain strong," said Saioh. "I doubt there will be many problems, however. Whatever happened in the past is past, and it will not be long before your talents are recognized. To that end, I wish to bestow a small present on you. Here."

He passed Misawa an alabaster box, intricately carved with images of stars and planets. Misawa opened the box, carefully lest he embarrass himself by dropping it, and found a stack of cards resting in a nest of white velvet. He picked a few up and began to study them.

"I've never seen these cards before," he murmured.

"They are quite rare, and hard to come by," Saioh replied, "but I have gathered a few copies to share with deserving members of the Society. They are very strong when used wisely. I trust you will know what to do with them."

"Thank you, Master Saioh!" he said, with genuine gratitude. A quick search through the cards had shown that Saioh was not exaggerating: the cards _were_ strong, and would be even in the hands of an amateur. In the hands of someone with real skill, they would be almost unstoppable. "I'll start work on my new deck right away."

Saioh smiled, as if he knew something Misawa didn't know... which, he supposed, was entirely likely, since he _was_ a clairvoyant. "There is no hurry. You would do better to use tonight to settle in, rest up from your journey, and perhaps make yourself better acquainted with your fellow Society members."

"I'm not tired at all, though. I feel fine," Misawa protested, and it was true. The warm glow that had fallen over him when he'd first seen the Light had never really left him, but it seemed to get stronger when Saioh was nearby. At the moment, Misawa felt ready to take on the world if Saioh commanded it.

"Do as you wish, then," Saioh answered casually. "I will have further instructions for you tomorrow. Good night."

Saioh excused himself and left the room. Misawa was a little sorry to see him go, but he was willing enough to stretch out on his bed again and start going over his new cards and planning new strategies. This activity left him happily absorbed until there was yet another knock on his door. He debated whether or not he wanted to answer it. All his things were already in place, and he doubted Saioh intended to pay him another visit again tonight...

"Misawa? Are you in there?" called a voice. "We have your uniforms and things."

Misawa sat up, finding himself suddenly more interested in the people behind the door. That voice had been undeniably feminine, which automatically made its owner more interesting. Furthermore, he wanted his uniform. He got up and answered the door. To his surprise and pleasure, there were four attractive young ladies standing at his door, each carrying something: an armful of folded uniforms, a stack of towels and washcloths, and some spare sheets and pillows.

"Good evening, ladies," he said, adopting his most charming manner. "What can I do for you?"

The girls giggled and blushed. The one in the front, who was holding his uniforms, looked shyly up at him through her lashes and said, "Master Saioh met us in the hallway and told us to get some things for you from the laundry downstairs. We aren't interrupting you, are we? Oh, I just knew you'd be doing something important..."

Under normal circumstances, Misawa tended to get a bit tongue-tied around girls. His usual reaction to unexpectedly finding a gaggle of shapely females standing on his doorstep at night would probably have been to blush, stammer something, and close the door, before spending the rest of the evening mentally kicking himself for ruining his chance - assuming such a thing happened often enough for him to have a usual reaction to it. Tonight, though, he was still riding the wave of confidence that joining the Society had given him, and he felt he could do no wrong. He offered the girls a smile.

"There is nothing I could possibly be doing that can't be put aside for a moment for the sake of such lovely ladies," he said. "Please, won't you step inside for a moment?"

That prompted another giggle from the girls, who allowed themselves to be ushered into his room.

"Ooh, this is nice," said one. "I've never been in one of the boys' dorms before. It's usually not allowed, but Saioh said we could do it to deliver your things..."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're free to visit whenever you like," Misawa told them, prompting another round of excited squeals.

"Can we really?" asked the girl carrying the spare sheets. "You're so _sweet_! Saioh told us we would like you - I should have known he'd be right."

Misawa reflected that if he had known talking to girls was so easy, he might have tried it sooner.

The fourth girl, who was in the process of tucking a pair of extra pillows in place on his bed, said, "Go on, try on your uniform! Let us see how you look."

"Oh. All right," he said. He picked up a jacket and began pulling it on.

"No, no! You have to put on the shirt too," said the girl who had brought the uniforms, smiling slyly. "Don't be shy. We won't tease you or anything. Right?" She looked at her friends, who nodded agreeably.

Feeling self-conscious, Misawa peeled off his shirt. Before he could put on the new one, he found himself surrounded by females, who made approving noises and ran their hands over his biceps, shoulders, and chest.

"See, I knew he'd be hot," the fist girl cooed.

"Intelligent _and_ hot," the second agreed. "I like that in a man."

"Smart and handsome and an incredible duelist," the third chimed in.

The fourth girl gazed adoringly into his eyes. "You've really got it all. Is there anything you _can't_ do?"

He smiled back at her and murmured something appropriately humble, but in his mind he was saying, _No... there is nothing I can't do now!_

* * *

There was very little that could keep Juudai's mood down for long. No matter what the situation, his natural good cheer would reassert itself, so it was no surprise to his friends that within a few days of Misawa's return to the island, he seemed to have nearly forgotten about the incident on the pier. It might have been noted that he spent more time sitting and thinking quietly than usual, but otherwise he seemed to be his old self.

"Hey, anybody up for a game of frisbee?" asked Shou.

"Sure, I'm game," Kenzan said. He got up from the picnic table where he had been going over a reading assignment.

"Sounds like just what I need," Juudai agreed. He stuffed his homework into his bag for later. "Not here, though. Too many trees. Let's go down by the lake."

"That's putting us awfully close to the Obelisk dorm, isn't it?" asked Shou worriedly.

"Who cares?" said Kenzan. "Those guys in white don't own the whole lake. We can play there same as anyone else."

"I'll get the frisbee," said Juudai.

The required item was duly fetched, and the three boys made their way down to the edge of the lake. Despite its uncomfortable proximity to the gleaming white dorm, it was still a nice clear place to play frisbee - or baseball, or kickball, or anything else that required a wide level playing field. It said something about the atmosphere of the school these days that there was no one else there playing anything.

There did appear to be someone there, though. Juudai stopped and listened, gesturing to his friends to do the same.

"Hey," he said, "do you guys hear that? It sounds like someone crying..."

Shou listened. "Yeah, you're right! It sounds kind of familiar, somehow."

"Better check it out," Juudai decided.

Without further consultation, he sprinted off in the direction of the noise. Shou and Kenzan shrugged and ran off after him. After all, if there was something bad going on, they needed to be there to protect him. Also, he was carrying their frisbee.

A short distance away, they found a boy sitting on a rock, and he was plainly in great distress. "Crying" was too mild a word - he was bawling like a baby, tears streaming down his face, and making a tremendous racket. No one found this particularly worrisome. Fubuki had never been able to do anything quietly.

"Hey, buddy," said Juudai, going to sit next to him. "What's wrong? You okay?"

"I... I..." Fubuki replied, sniffling and hiccupping. "Juudai, it's awful! I... I've been _replaced_!"

"Replaced?" asked Kenzan. "By what, pod people?"

"It's not like that," said Fubuki. "I just... I think I might be losing my touch. I tried talking to some of the girls at breakfast this morning, and they barely even looked at me!"

"That's weird," Shou agreed. Even the White girls tended to get sparkly-eyed and giggly when Fubuki beamed his irresistible smile at them.

"Yeah," said Fubuki. "Get this - they told me they don't like me anymore. They only like _Misawa!_"

"Misawa?" Juudai repeated.

"But he's clueless about girls!" said Shou. "He doesn't know a pickup line from a pickup truck!"

"Well, he must have learned," Fubuki muttered. "These days you never see him hardly anywhere without a girl on his arm. At _least_ one."

"It's gotta be something Saioh did," said Juudai. "Don't worry, Fubuki - you aren't losing your touch. Saioh's just got half the school thinking up is down and... and north is south." He almost said "black is white" but changed his mind. The Society only thought that white was white and everything else _ought_ to be white.

"So you think it will wear off after a while?" asked Fubuki.

"Sure!" Juudai assured him. "Once we get rid of Saioh, everything will go back to normal."

"Yeah, Fubuki, you shouldn't worry. You've still got it," said Kenzan, following Juudai's lead. "You leave it to Juudai. One of these days he's going to duel Saioh right off the island, and then the girls will be all over you again for sure."

"That's right. You can trust Aniki," said Shou.

Fubuki gave Juudai a watery-eyed, pleading look. "You'd do that for me?"

"Er... sure! Of course!" said Juudai. Explaining that if he did it at all, it would be with the best interests of the whole school at heart and not just Fubuki, didn't seem very important.

"Aw, thanks, Juudai! You're the best!" said Fubuki, catching Juudai in an unexpected bear hug.

"No... problem!" said Juudai, a little breathlessly.

"You don't know how much this means to me," Fubuki continued, shedding grateful tears on Juudai's shirt. "Everything's just been really cruddy lately. Asuka's stopped speaking to me, and Manjoume doesn't like me anymore, and Ryou won't answer my e-mails, and now the girls have dumped me for Misawa... Nobody loves me anymore!"

The other boys made sympathetic noises. Fubuki, they all knew, lived for the love and attention he got from his fans, and without them, he was a wreck. No wonder he was crying his eyes out!

"Hey, it's okay," said Juudai, patting Fubuki on the back. "We still love you!"

"You promise?"

"Yeah, Fubuki. You still rock," Juudai assured him.

"Thanks, man. You're a good pal!" said Fubuki.

"You mean it?" Now it was Juudai's turn to look grateful.

"Absolutely! When I write my next song, I'm dedicating it to you!" said Fubuki, resuming his crushing hold on the younger boy.

"Oh... gee... thanks," Juudai gasped. "Could you maybe loosen up on me a little? You're kind of squashing me."

"Right, sure!" Fubuki obediently released his grip. Seriously, though, you're a real friend!"

"Ha - as if," a new voice cut in. While everyone was occupied with talking to Fubuki, Manjoume had apparently heard the noise and come to see what all the fuss was about.

"Keep walking, if you know what's good for you," said Kenzan, glaring at him.

"Hey, it's a free beach," Manjoume replied. "Hello, Fubuki. Still haven't come to your senses? It's still not too late to join us."

"But I don't want to," Fubuki protested.

"Why not? You'd get your old popularity back, and Asuka would start speaking to you again - everyone would win!" said Manjoume persuasively.

"I don't know why not," Fubuki answered. "It just doesn't feel right."

"Sure it does! You just haven't tried it yet," said Manjoume. "Trust me, nothing feels better than finally seeing the Light! You ought to at least give it a try and see how you like it. You can always back out later if you decide it's not for you. You want us to be friends again, right?"

Fubuki gave him a surprisingly cold glare. "I'll stick with the friends I've got, thanks."

"Bad idea," Manjoume warned him. "You'd be better off joining the Society of Light and making some _real_ friends. When Master Saioh's plans are complete, there won't be anything these losers can do for you."

"All the same, I still think I like them better," said Fubuki placidly.

Manjoume's persuasive manner turned hostile.

"Fine, then!" he snarled. "Be that way! I don't care. I've got a _real_ master now, so I don't need you anyway, _Shishou_. Just don't say I didn't try to help you!"

With that, he turned and stormed grumpily away.

"What was that all about?" asked Kenzan.

"Dunno!" said Fubuki carelessly. "Sure ticked him off, though, huh?"

"I wonder," Juudai murmured. "He really used to worship Fubuki before he joined that Society, you know? Maybe he misses him a little bit..."

"Nah," said Shou. "He's just mad 'cause Fubuki doesn't want to join his stupid club. And neither do we! He can't stand being ignored."

"Well, it could be that, too," Juudai agreed. "So, hey, Fubuki - do you want to play frisbee with us? If you join us, we can play in teams!"

"Sure!" said Fubuki, his troubles forgotten. "Can I be on your side? Please?"

"It's fine with me if it's fine with them," Juudai answered agreeably.

"Don't mind," said Kenzan. Shou might have been smaller and couldn't run as fast as the others, but he threw more accurately, so it evened out.

"Great! You guys head over that direction," said Juudai.

The teams spread out. As they took their positions, Juudai said quietly to Fubuki, "You really think I'm a good friend, huh?"

"Sure you are," Fubuki answered. "Everybody knows that. Even me!"

Juudai smiled.

"You're all right, too," he said. To his other friends, he shouted, "Okay, guys, go long! I'm seriously gonna huck this sucker!"

With a mighty hurl, he lofted the frisbee off into the distance, sending Shou and Kenzan scurrying to catch it. None of them noticed a lone white-clad figure half-hidden amid a stand of trees, watching them play with an expression that might have almost been called wistful. Then Manjoume shut his eyes tightly, shook himself, and turned and walked away.

* * *

A helicopter had landed in the night, sending the school into a tizzy. Acting Principal Chronos and Vice-Principal Napoleon were in a panic. The members of the Society of Light had fallen into a tense and watchful silence, awaiting word from their master. As for the rest of the school... they were jumping for joy, because word had gotten out that Principal Sameshima was back.

"It's about time he got here!" said Shou jubilantly, as he scampered up the sidewalk to the auditorium. "He'll straighten out this Society business for sure!"

"There's a rumor going around that he brought us back some kind of a gift," said Juudai.

There was a vast crowd forming, and Juudai and his friends had their work cut out for them to find good seats. Juudai scanned the room and saw that just about everyone had made it there before him, and he cursed his habit of sleeping as late as he could get away with. There were hardly any places left, much less good ones. As he looked around, he noted that even Saioh had decided to put in one of his rare public appearances. He rarely ever attended classes, and no one had ever managed to successfully discipline him for his truancy. Anyone who tried generally forgot what they had come for as soon as they arrived in his presence, and usually ended up wandering around on the other end of campus without any memories as to how they'd ended up there, with their desire to lecture Saioh greatly diminished. Ed had decided to attend today as well - he was sitting in the very last row, where no one else really wanted to sit, as it was too far away to see very much of anything. As Juudai scanned the crowd in search of free space, he saw someone waving to him.

"Hey, Juudai!" called Fubuki from the stands. "Come sit with us! We saved you guys some spots!"

"All right! Thanks! Be right up!" Juudai called back.

He and his two best friends hurried up into the bleachers, where Fubuki was sitting between Junko and Momoe. They had set their book bags in the chairs in front of them, so there was a place for all three boys to sit.

"Looks like you're feeling better today," Juudai commented as he sat down.

Fubuki slung his arms around his two female friends. "Turns out not _everyone_ forgot about me."

"We'll always love you, Fubuki!" the girls assured him, cuddling close to him.

"See, I told you it would be okay," said Juudai.

"Everything is just fine," said Momoe, rather smugly, and Junko nodded. Apparently they were not the least bit bothered by the idea of not having to share Fubuki with the girls in White.

"Shh!" said Kenzan. "The principal's gonna talk!"

A hush fell over the auditorium as Principal Sameshima stepped onto the stage.

"Good morning, everyone!" he said, smiling broadly at them all. "Before we begin, let me just tell you how much I have missed each and every one of you. I'm glad to see Professor Chronos has taken good care of you in my absence. It appears there have been a few changes around here, but I'm sure it won't take me long to catch up on everything. In the meantime, I've brought you all back a nice surprise."

There was a murmur as the crowd speculated about what the surprise could be.

"That's right! And it's something you'll all enjoy," the principal continued. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a silver medal on a ribbon. The letters "GX" were stamped prominently on the front. "Ladies and gentlemen of Duel Academia, I am pleased to announce that we are hosting a tournament - the GX World Championship! High-ranking duelists from all over the world will be participating in duels right here on this very island, and every single one of you is invited to participate!"

There was an immediate outcry from the students. Principal Sameshima allowed it to go on for a while before raising his hands for silence. Gradually the crowd quieted down.

"You should be excited," he said approvingly. "This is your chance to see what you'll be up again when you enter the Pro Leagues. It is my conviction that you will make me proud. The winner of the tournament will be proclaimed the Genex World Champion, and will receive a very special prize."

From his place in the stands - comfortably close to the front, as befitted someone of his exalted station - Misawa listened as Sameshima outlined the rules of the game.

_A tournament, eh? What a wonderful idea - and what perfect timing!_

Ever since Saioh had given him those new cards, he had been spending his free time constructing a deck that would incorporate them. Now was his chance to try them out - and on professional duelists, too! Winning against even the best students in the school was nothing compared to winning against someone with an already-established reputation. And if he actually _won_ the Championship, he would be world famous! That was definitely a goal worth shooting for.

After the assembly was over, everyone collected their medals and filed out to start looking for their first targets. Misawa was eager to get started, but he was held back by Saioh.

"A word with you, if you don't mind," he said. "This will only take a moment."

"I have time for anything you need me to do," Misawa answered obediently. He really wanted to join the tournament as soon as possible, but it was important to keep his priorities straight. Winning a world championship was one thing, but winning the _world_ was what Saioh was aiming for.

"Good." Saioh passed him an envelope. "Take this to Principal Sameshima. It contains important information meant for his eyes only, and I wouldn't trust just anyone to deliver it."

"Of course, Master Saioh. I'll deliver it right away."

"Good. Return to me when you're done. I have a few words to say to you about this championship - I have something in mind that may give you an extra edge."

Misawa nodded. "I understand, Master." What he understood was that he didn't see Saioh offering anyone else something to give them an extra edge, and drew the conclusion that Saioh was intending for him to win. With that in mind, he was more than happy to run a quick odd job first.

The hallways between the auditorium and the principal's office were mostly empty - everyone had hurried outside to begin dueling and collecting medals. It was a little disorienting to be walking through them when they weren't crawling with other students. His footfalls echoed in the empty hallway.

He had gone a short distance when he became aware that there was another pair of footfalls coming from behind him. He stopped walking.

"Who's there?" he called.

"Just me," said the person behind him. "Paranoid, much?"

Misawa turned around to see Ed standing behind him. His eyes narrowed.

"What were you following me for?" he asked.

"I always follow suspicious duelists. It's my hobby," Ed replied.

"And you think I'm suspicious?"

"Do I think it's suspicious that one of the most ambitious duelists in the school is wandering off on his own when he could be off winning glory in the tournament? Damn right, I think you're suspicious. What are you up to?"

"I'm not up to anything," said Misawa in his loftiest tone. "For your information, I'm delivering a very important message for Master Saioh." He held up his envelope as proof.

"Right, right. No offense meant," said Ed casually. "So, how's the Society of Light working out for you?"

Misawa's expression went slightly misty. "Better than I ever imagined."

"Great," said Ed. "Glad you're enjoying being Saioh's patsy."

"His what?"

"Patsy. Stooge. Pawn. Plaything. Pick one or more of the above," Ed replied. "By any other name, he's got you wrapped around his fingers."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Misawa.

"Seems pretty obvious to me. Before you left the school, he didn't care one bit about you. Then you go away and come back, and suddenly he can't do enough for you, and you're not doing a thing to earn it. Ever think that might be just a little bit suspicious?"

"Saioh respects me," Misawa snapped. "He values my service. Maybe you're so suspicious that you can't see a bit of courtesy without thinking there's an ulterior motive behind it, but not everyone is like you."

"So he's giving you everything you want because... what? Because you deliver the mail for him? He could train a dog to do that," said Ed. "I suppose you think he's doing it all because you're just so wonderful you deserve to get everything you want. If I were you, I'd stop and remember that nobody gets a free ride. You're getting used for something, buddy."

"I don't have to listen to this," said Misawa. "Why is it every time you talk to me, you have to insult me? I think you're just jealous because Saioh likes me more than he likes you. Otherwise, he would have asked _you_ to join the Society."

"Saioh doesn't want me to join his Society. He knows he's already gotten all the use he can out of me. Listen to one who's been there: he was a good guy once, but these days, Saioh is looking out for Saioh. No one else. And it seems to me you were grateful to me the last time I talked to you. You wouldn't be where you are now if I hadn't helped you, now, would you?"

"True," Misawa admitted, "but that's no reason why I should stand here and listen to you insult me - or insult Master Saioh, for that matter. Now, get out of my way. I have a message to deliver, and Master Saioh is waiting for me."

"Suit yourself," said Ed with a shrug. Under his breath, he muttered, "Don't know why I bother to try and help..."

Misawa stalked away, fuming.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about," he muttered to himself. "Saioh _does_ respect me. He wouldn't go through all this trouble if I didn't matter to him... What could he possibly be using me for? He said it himself - I haven't done anything yet that someone else couldn't have done just as easily. He must see something in me personally..."

Still talking to himself quietly, he arrived at the door of the principal's office. He knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Sameshima called.

"Misawa Daichi. I have an important message to you from Saioh Takuma."

There was a creaking of someone getting up from a chair, and then the sound of footsteps moving towards the door. It opened, and Sameshima looked down at him.

"Saioh, eh? I've heard about him," he said. "Very interesting things, too. He's been causing a lot of changes around here, isn't he?"

His tone didn't seem to require an answer, so Misawa simply nodded politely and handed over the letter. Sameshima read it quickly.

"Interesting," he said. "Did Saioh ask you to bring him a reply?"

"No, sir."

"Then I will think about this a while and get back to him."

"Yes, sir. I'll tell him you said so, then," Misawa replied.

"Will that be all?"

"Yes, sir."

"All right, then! You'd better hurry back, then. I wouldn't want you to miss a day of dueling. Good luck in the competition!"

"Thank you, sir." Misawa bowed and hurried back to the White dorm to relay the message to Saioh.

On the way back, he passed a good-sized number of people having duels with each other; everyone seemed eager to begin collecting medals. A few people were already sitting in dejection, having already lost their tokens in the first few minutes of play. Misawa walked past them as quickly as he could so he would not be challenged; much as he would have loved to join in the games, he wanted to get back to Saioh first, and it was against the rules to refuse a challenge once it was issued.

_Sorry, everyone. I'll just have to get back to you later._

He hurried back to the Obelisk dorm and tapped on Saioh's door.

"Come in, Mr. Misawa."

Misawa stepped into the room and found Saioh in his usual place. He had gotten used to finding Saioh sitting at his table with his cards, to the point where it was hard to imagine him anywhere else. It was easy to believe he never left that table at all, but slept on it and took all his meals at it.

"You are a bit behind," said Saioh. "I had expected you back before now. I hope Principal Sameshima did not give you any trouble?"

"No, Master, he was quite agreeable. He says he will consider your message and get back to you soon."

"Good. Very good. I always knew Sameshima was an agreeable man. I am certain he will agree to my small request," said Saioh. "So if he gave you no difficulty, why the delay? Did you stop along the way to join in the games?"

"No, of course not!" Misawa hastened to assure him. "It was just that... while I was on my way to Sameshima's office, I was stopped by Ed Phoenix."

"Ah, yes," said Saioh, with mild distaste. "Him."

Hesitantly, Misawa added, "He... he said that you didn't really respect me, and that you're just using me for something."

"He would," Saioh replied. "You mustn't listen to the likes of him. He is still bitter that I have severed ties with him. Unfortunately, I had no choice. No matter how much I try to help him, his past tragedies have made him resentful and self-centered. He is incapable of seeing the Light, and would gladly prevent anyone else from doing so if he could. He is only using empty words to confuse you, Misawa. Of course I'm _using_ you, if that is the word you wish to use. In a true society, we all make use of each other's talents to counterbalance our own weaknesses, and we all reap the rewards. There would only be harm in 'using' you if you were getting nothing in return. Do you not feel you have been well rewarded?"

"Of course I have! My life is a thousand times better than it was before I joined the Society."

"And I have not given you anything that other members of the Society haven't received, so he is hardly justified in saying you receive special treatment," Saioh continued. "What have I given you? A room, a uniform, some good advice... the most extravagant thing I've given you is a new deck, and I am in the process of gathering a few more for other valued members, so you are not alone even in that respect. The only thing you receive that others do not is recognition of your superior skill, and it would hardly be fair even in this enlightened society to treat the greatest of its members exactly the same as the lowest. If we are to be true servants of the Light, we must embrace all of its aspects, including fairness and justice. Don't you agree?"

"Of course. You're absolutely right," said Misawa, relaxing. "I should have known I couldn't trust him. He was obviously spying on me - why else would he be following me when everyone else in the school is out dueling?"

"A keen observation," Saioh agreed. "It is entirely possible that he was attempting to learn the contents of my missive, so he can interfere in my plans. It is good that you reported this to me."

"Pleased to be of service," Misawa replied. Mentally, he was telling Ed, _See, I am useful to Saioh! So there!_

"I would advise not speaking to young Mr. Phoenix anymore," said Saioh. "He has nothing to say that will be of any use to you. Now, let us put this topic aside and speak of something more productive. Have you prepared your new deck?"

"Yes, Master Saioh. All I need is a chance to test it."

"I'm sure you have done an admirable job. My understanding is that you are a master of deck construction," Saioh replied. "I simply wanted to offer you something that will help you use it to your fullest potential."

"What kind of something?" asked Misawa, interested.

"Consider it training," Saioh replied. "The Light heightens perception and allows its adherents to see things they never could before. I wish to help you harness and refine this ability. Once you have mastered it, you will be able to predict your opponents' moves as accurately as if you could read their minds."

Misawa was intrigued, but also a bit uncertain. "Wouldn't that be cheating, though?"

"Not at all. It is not as if you would be... oh, using mirrors to see their cards, or any such crude tricks. You will be using nothing more than your natural senses. If an Olympic sprinter wins a footrace against an ordinary man, did he win because he was cheating? No, he won because he is more naturally talented and better trained. There is nothing wrong with that. It is the nature of competition that the winner will be better than the loser. If everyone was on perfectly level footing, what would be the point of having a contest at all? If it puts your mind at rest, I taught this same technique to our friend Manjoume, and you have seen for yourself that he is not unbeatable."

"Well... all right," said Misawa.

"Excellent. Just hold still, then, and permit me to open your inner eye."

Before Misawa could react, Saioh laid a hand on his forehead, and something like an electric shock went shooting through his brain, sending stars dancing across his vision. It was a sensation not unlike the one he'd undergone when he had joined the Society in the first place, and like that experience, the shock quickly faded, leaving him feeling euphoric, warm all over and slightly lightheaded, with a feeling of reckless confidence.

"Done," said Saioh briskly. "It may take your body some time to fully accept the change, so the effects may fade over time. If that happens, we will repeat the process until it becomes permanent. Unless, of course, you find you are uncomfortable with this ability, in which case we can allow it to fade."

"No, no, this is fine," Misawa assured him. Already, the world looked different - sharper and more defined, and the bright sunlight slanting through Saioh's windows didn't dazzle his eyes as it usually would. He wondered if this was how Saioh saw the world.

"Then allow me to perform a simple test," said Saioh. He took out his deck, shuffled it a few times, and drew a card, holding it up so that its back was to Misawa. "Tell me what card I've drawn."

Misawa's first instinct was to say that he didn't know - that it was impossible for him to guess the name of a card he couldn't see from a deck he was unfamiliar with - but then suddenly realized that he _could_ see it. There was a faint halo of reflected light where the sun's rays struck the picture, and a faint shadow on the back of the card where the slightest amount of light shone through it. The longer he stared, the clearer these images became.

"Arcana Force XIV," he said at last. "Temperance."

"Very good," said Saioh. "You have learned to read the signs. Now you have only to practice, and this tournament will give you the perfect opportunity to do so. It is my trust that you will achieve victory for the glory of the Light."

"Yes, Master! You can count on me!"

He hurried on his way with his head still spinning. A small part of his mind was whispering to him that this wasn't quite right, somehow - hadn't he wanted to prove to the world that he could succeed with his own power? What was he doing, accepting something like this? He told the voice to be quiet.

_There is nothing wrong with this. This is just another skill I'm learning. Once I've mastered it, and combined it with my new deck and my natural talent for strategy, I'll be unstoppable! I can't back down now - I'll never get a chance like this again!_

Meanwhile, Saioh watched from his window as Misawa set off across the lawn in search of duels. He chuckled softly, idly toying with the card he had drawn.

"Temperance," he murmured, and laughed.

**To Be Continued**


	3. The Hanged Man

**The Hanged Man**

**By: SilvorMoon**

Dinner at the White dorm was an exciting event that night. As Saioh had managed to collect most of the best duelists on the island to be part of his organization, the Society as a whole had collected a good many medals, with very few disqualifications. The meal had turned into something like an impromptu victory party. Everywhere you looked, people were laughing, shouting, and boasting, showing off their winnings. Even the last of the true Blues were getting less flak than usual from their white-coated brethren. They sat at their own table and shouted boasts and good-natured insults at the Whites, who responded in kind. Even Saioh had opted to be sociable that night, eating with his fellow students instead of in his rooms as he often did. His presence gave the meal a sense of importance, and everyone was carrying on as if the tournament had already been won.

Manjoume in particular was in a good mood. He'd put in a solid day's dueling and had won several medals already. Of course, he was not yet putting forth his full strength; the professional duelists had only just begun showing up on the island, so he had contented himself with accepting any challenges that came his way without worrying about making any challenges himself. His strategy was to wait for the big-name duelists to come in and collect the medals of the lower-ranking players, and then Manjoume could move in and start picking _them_ off and collecting large numbers of medals at once. It would save him the trouble of wasting energy trying to fight dozens of weak duelists for only a handful of medals each, when he could fight only a few professionals and potentially win dozens at one go, while at the same time earning some reputation points. Even in the (unlikely, as he saw it) event that he lost the championship, he would still be remembered when it came time to join the Pro Leagues. He might very well be in Saioh's good graces at the moment, which he had a feeling would get him a long way, but he believed in hedging his bets.

"Anybody who thinks this tournament isn't going to go to the Society is just kidding themselves," he said, to anyone who was close enough to hear him. Several of his tablemates made known their agreement by raising their glasses or beating their silverware against the table, making even more noise than they had before. Asuka, sitting a few seats away, gave him a small smile.

"Who's winning so far?" called a voice down the table.

"I got six today!" someone else called back.

"Oh, yeah, well I won nine!"

"I have a dozen!" said someone else.

Manjoume smirked. "I've got fifteen."

Several people whistled their appreciation.

"Man, you're fast," said one of the boys siting closest to him.

"Not _too_ bad," drawled a voice, "if you aren't trying very hard. _I_ won eighteen."

There was a small commotion, as everyone looked towards Misawa.

"Eighteen already? That's awesome!"

"I wish I had been there to see that!"

"_I_ saw some of it. He shut the guy he was dueling down in only four moves!"

"Incredible. Look at him - he's not even tired!"

"I didn't put in a full day," said Misawa modestly. "I got a late start on the dueling, so I didn't have a chance to put out my full effort. I'll do better tomorrow."

"If you keep playing at this rate, you'll have this tournament won for sure!" said one of those sitting closest to him.

"No wonder Saioh wanted him in the Society," someone else agreed.

Manjoume became aware that everyone's attention seemed to be moving towards Misawa's end of the table, and he ground his teeth.

_That... that glory-hog! He's got an edge over me by a whole three medals, and everyone acts like he's already the world champion! Oh, how I wish I could tell him to his face in what Saioh really thinks he is. He wouldn't be so full of himself then!_

With his mood quite spoiled, he sat and stared grumpily at his plate while everyone else around him called for desserts and continued celebrating without a care. It was only after the party had started to quiet down, and Saioh stood up and told his followers that they should go rest up for the next day's dueling, that the crowd dispersed and Manjoume got up to return to his room. His room was on the top floor, the room closest to Saioh's own lair, which put him closer to Misawa than he would have liked, at the moment. It was perhaps inevitable that the two of them should bump into each other in the hall.

"You sure had a lot to say tonight," Manjoume said as he brushed past.

"Hm?" Misawa replied.

"You and your eighteen medals. As if it takes any hard work to beat a bunch of slackers. Any idiot could do it."

"Oh, really? So tell me, if it's so easy, why haven't you done it?"

"I'm pacing myself," Manjoume replied. "By the time the _serious_ duelists reach the island, you'll be burnt out. Then I'll come along and pick you off."

"That's funny. That's very funny, considering you've never beaten me in a duel before."

"Hey, I didn't have to lose that duel," Manjoume snarled. "I went easy on you that time, and if you were half as smart as you think you are, you'd realize that." "So you say," answered Misawa coolly. "I suppose you intended for your leader to be cast out into the world alone? Perhaps you wanted to rule the Society yourself. Is that it? The way I see it, either you lost the game fairly or you betrayed Saioh. Nothing to brag about either way, is it?"

Manjoume gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to say something he shouldn't.

"You don't know half as much as you think you do," he ground out. "I'd tell you what I think of you, but I have orders from Saioh to leave you alone. Otherwise I'd make you sorry you ever opened your mouth."

"I'm so impressed," said Misawa mildly. "So you _would_ threaten me if you weren't so afraid? That's incredibly brave of you."

"Shut up!"

"And he makes witty comebacks, too! Obviously I can't compete."

"Look, I've about had it with you! Just because Saioh's made you his pet, you think we all have to bow down and lick your shoes. Well, you had better think again, buddy, because like it or not, I still outrank you - in dueling and everything else! And I'm willing to prove it any time, any place!"

Misawa raised an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting? A rematch? I thought you were going to wait until I had burnt myself out so you could pick me off, but if you feel like changing your plans..."

"Hey, I'd rather beat you when you've won a few more medals for me, but if it will shut your big mouth than I'll do it right now," said Manjoume.

"Shall we take this outside, then?"

"Why should we? This hallway's big enough. Let's just grab our Duel Disks and get this done now."

"You're on. There are a few minutes before quiet hours begin, and I don't think this will take long," said Misawa calmly. He gave a small smile. "You haven't seen me duel recently, have you? You may be in for a surprise."

"A surprise, huh? That's rich. The only _surprise_ is that you can still stand up straight under that swelled head of yours!"

"And you are obviously a model of humility," Misawa replied.

"Compared to you!"

"Maybe you're just jealous because you're afraid you might lose your position to me," Misawa replied. "Saioh has made it clear enough that he expects _me_ to win this tournament."

"In your dreams!"

"Then prove me wrong."

"Gladly!"

"What is going on here?" a new voice cut in. Both boys spun around guiltily and found Saioh standing behind them, eyes blazing.

"Master Saioh!" Manjoume croaked. "We were just..."

"Disobeying my orders," said Saioh, dangerously quiet. "Both of you have seriously disappointed me. Manjoume, you had a direct command from me not to interfere, no matter what the circumstances. Misawa, you agreed that if anyone gave you any problems, you were to report the matter directly to me, not to attempt to handle the situation yourself."

"I'm sorry, Master Saioh. I didn't feel it was necessary to trouble you with such a trivial matter," said Misawa.

"Do not presume to tell me what is or is not a trivial matter," Saioh retorted. "I will be the judge of that. What about you, Manjoume? Have you anything to say in your defense?"

"Nothing, Master Saioh," he answered. "I lost my temper. Forgive me."

"Very well. But do not let it happen again!" said Saioh. "Both of you, return to your rooms. Once you are alone, you may rant and rave to your hearts' content, but as long as you are in public I expect you to put forth a dignified facade. How do you expect the Society to function if its members are incapable of getting along?"

Both boys bowed and murmured their apologies, and then hurried to their rooms before they could incur Saioh's wrath any further. It was the first time Saioh had ever been seriously angry at either of them, and neither of them were enjoying the experience.

_This is all _his _fault!_ thought Manjoume savagely. _I'll make him pay one of these days! Plan or no plan, if he keeps messing with me, I'm going to let slip what's really going on!_

* * *

So far, it had been a very good morning for Saioh. Principal Sameshima had agreed to Saioh's request, just as Saioh had known he would, and Prince Orgene had agreed to Principal Sameshima's request. Saioh had enjoyed that duel, short though it was. He had dueled on the island before, but usually before a limited audience. It was about time he let the whole school know what kind of duelist he was. Already the rumor of Saioh's spectacular victory had spread far and wide, and three people had presented themselves at the Society's front door begging to be allowed to join. Apparently they didn't care for the idea of having to suffer such a humiliating defeat.

_Though now that I have the keys to S.O.R.A., it matters little whether they join me or not,_ Saioh thought smugly. _Now there is but one last thing I need, and my victory will be assured..._

His gaze strayed up to the top of a hill, where two duelists stood in dramatic relief against the blue sky. It appeared that watching the duel between Saioh and the Prince had fired up Juudai's fighting instincts, and now he was locked in battle with a student from Ra Yellow. Saioh dimly recognized the other boy, by face if not by name, as one of mediocre talents but with an eye to rising in rank. Apparently he had decided that winning a victory against Duel Academia's favorite student would be a good way to help him earn that coveted blue jacket. Saioh didn't need his gift of foreknowledge to tell him who was going to win this duel. Even as he watched, Juudai waved his hand and issued a confident command to his Aqua Neos, who dove in to demolish the other boy's life points. Saioh grimaced a bit.

_Just looking at those alien brutes turns my stomach. How they could cast their lot with the Darkness is beyond my ability to comprehend._

Still, if Saioh had believed in coincidence, he would have thought it convenient that he would just happen to spot Juudai here. He wanted to talk to him, and this was as good a time as any to do so. He waited for the boy to collect his winnings and begin walking away, and then picked up his pace to catch up to him.

"An impressive win, Yuki Juudai," he said.

Juudai spun around, his eyes widening as he saw who was speaking to him.

"Oh, hi," he said. "You saw that, huh? Just between you and me, it wasn't the most fun duel I ever had. He didn't put up much of a fight, but he challenged me, so I had to duel him! I almost kinda felt bad for beating him. But hey, I saw you dueling today, too! That Zero Turn Kill of yours was amazing! Have you ever done that before?"

"I'm afraid not," said Saioh. "What would be the fun in dueling if one could win each time before their first turn came?"

"Ha! I guess you're right," said Juudai. He gave Saioh a thoughtful look. "You weren't planning on dueling me next, were you?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Saioh asked, feigning innocence.

"I dunno. Maybe because you've been grabbing up all my friends for that Society of yours? Seems like you'd come for me sooner or later."

"I have not 'grabbed up' anyone," Saioh answered evenly. "If there are those who are persuaded by my words and choose to follow me, that is their business. I force no one to join the Society if they are unwilling. You seem to be under the misapprehension that the Society of Light is a bad thing."

"It is," said Juudai. "Everyone who joins it starts acting all crazy. They wouldn't do that if you weren't doing something that was messing with their heads."

"How do you know?"

That made Juudai pause for a moment. Just because he sensed something in his gut didn't mean he could translate that into articulate speech.

"Well... because they wouldn't act like that," he said at last.

"Why not?"

"Because," said Juudai. "Manjoume and Asuka and Misawa... they're my friends. They never treated me this way before. They're just not like that."

"Perhaps they aren't," Saioh replied. "Perhaps you are."

"Huh?"

"Allow me to elucidate," said Saioh. "You see, Yuki Juudai, all events in the world are controlled by Destiny. Nothing that happens - no event, great or small - is not determined somehow by the guidance of Fate. Do you believe this?"

"No," said Juudai. "I choose what I want to do, not some stupid Fate."

"Ahh, but you are special," Saioh replied. "You of all people in the world are unique. Fate, for whatever reason, does not apply to you. This is a mystery beyond my comprehension, but all signs indicate to me that you are capable of turning the Wheel of Fate and creating your own Destiny - as well as changing the destinies of those around you. It is your choice."

"Okay, lemme get this straight," said Juudai. "You're saying everyone in the world has their lives already planned out for them, but somehow I get to choose?"

"That is exactly right. You agree with me, do you not? You have said yourself that you do not feel you are controlled by Fate."

"Well, yeah, I guess..."

"So. Your erstwhile friends are still controlled by their own particular destinies, which seem to have led them to me," said Saioh. "I, too, have a destiny that I cannot escape. It has led me to this place, where I must fulfil my role as Fate decrees. I read my path through the signs given to me by the Tarot cards, and I do as I am directed. I did not wish to come so far from my home, but here I am. I am solitary by nature, but my fate was to gather a Society, so that is what I have done. I have even had to separate myself from my dear sister, and to break my friendship with Ed Phoenix, whom I have known since childhood. These are not sacrifices I make lightly."

"You shouldn't have done that," said Juudai.

"I had no choice. Even if I had resisted, it would have come to the same end," said Saioh. "The only one who can resist is you. You were chosen, weren't you? The inhabitants of Neospace chose you and made you their champion."

"You know about that?"

"Of course. When it all comes down, it is you against me - Darkness against Light, Choice against Destiny. You are the only one who can decide the outcome of this conflict," said Saioh, "and so far, you have chosen in my favor."

"What?" Juudai yelped. "I have not!"

"You have. What you have chosen is inaction. I have done what Fate decrees, and you have not yet resisted me on any meaningful front. If your friends have joined my cause, it is because you have done nothing to stop them. It was you who left the island and abandoned your friend Manjoume, and because you did so, he turned to me. Then he began gathering more recruits for the Society, and you did nothing to stop him. You allowed Asuka to duel him instead of you, and so she joined the Society in your place. You failed to protect Misawa from the bullies who made his life a misery, so he had no choice but to break down and join us. So you see, at any point, you could have made a choice to change the course of your friends' lives and keep them from joining me, but you have not."

"But I... how was I supposed to know any of that was going to happen?" Juudai asked.

"You didn't need to. You knew you were leaving your friends to fend for themselves when you left the island. You knew that Asuka was entering a dangerous battle. You knew Misawa was being tormented. You knew enough."

Juudai just gave him a baffled, disbelieving stare.

"Don't worry too much," said Saioh in a consoling tone. "Your friends are happier now. They have good friends in the Society of Light, and I look after them. Perhaps you haven't really failed them at all. It is probably all for the best."

"Wait a minute," said Juudai. "If I can really choose people's fates and stuff, why shouldn't I just choose to make you let them go?"

Saioh smiled at him. "The same reason you made such poor choices in the past - you don't know what consequences your choices will bring about. That is the risk that freedom of choice brings. I cannot choose my fate, but I can learn what it is. You can choose your actions freely, but it is impossible to predict the consequences. Quite a conundrum, wouldn't you say?"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Juudai exclaimed. "If I don't choose, you win, and if I do choose, I end up doing something that makes stuff even _more_ screwed up!"

"The only thing you can do," Saioh replied. "Join me."

"Never!"

"Do not be so hasty," said Saioh. "Listen to me. We both have what the other wants. You wish to know how to choose wisely; I wish to escape my fate. You can use your power to help me, and I can use my gift of foresight to advise you in your choices. Let us join forces. Together we can bring the Light and Darkness into harmony. You can even be with your friends again. Everyone will be happy. What do you say?"

"I don't know... I mean, it sounds like a good deal, but..."

"It is the best offer you are likely to get. If you choose to fight against me, then I will have no choice but to set your friends against you. I do not have very much time to wait for your decision. You had best choose wisely, Yuki Juudai - more wisely than you have in the past."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Juudai standing alone on the hilltop. He stayed there for a long time, lost in thought, before he finally trudged dejectedly back in the direction of his dorm. Saioh smirked.

_Let him sleep on that a while. Let him sit in the darkness and mull over his fears and doubts. By the time morning comes, he may finally be ready to see the light..._

He returned to his room in a positive frame of mind. His plan seemed to be working nicely. If nothing else, he had planted a few doubts in Juudai's mind, and Saioh welcomed anything that gave him even the slightest edge over his enemy. As he entered his chamber, he began walking towards his card table sheerly out of habit, but as he drew nearer, he corrected his course. It was nearly time for dinner, and he had put in a bit more work today than he usually did; he wanted to freshen up. As he turned, his long hair brushed across the tabletop and disturbed his deck of Tarot cards. They spread across the table, and a few fell on the floor. One landed face-up. Saioh felt a tingle down his spine as he recognized the pointing finger of Fate, and he knelt to have a closer look at the card.

_The Magician. Second of the Major Arcana. Upright position._ He pondered its meaning. The card usually signified a course of confident action and the recognition of one's own abilities, but taken out of context, he could not be certain exactly who was meant to take such actions. Still, there had to be some significance to its cropping up now. He frowned. It was possible that the card referred to himself, in that he was finally taking direct action against his opponent, and yet Saioh's sixth sense was telling him that there was something more to it than that. In the story of the Tarot, the Magician was the first person the Fool met on his path to gaining all the world's wisdom. It was the Magician who opened the Fool's pack and showed him the tools he carried. Was this an omen that Juudai was about to unlock his full potential as well?

_I know one thing, at least,_ he thought wryly. _Whatever this card means, it is not meant to be taken in the literal sense. I know there are no magicians on this island!_

* * *

Peace and quiet was a rarity in Juudai's room, even when he was actually being still. He had been surprisingly silent that afternoon, and had fended off his friends' questions by saying that he was worn out from all the dueling he'd done that day, and that he had a headache now and wanted to be left alone. Shou and Kenzan had been sympathetic, and had agreeably left him sitting at his desk, staring off in space while he leafed idly through his cards.

_What if Saioh's right? What if it is my fault?_

He struggled to get his thoughts in order. Deep thinking was never his strong suit, and Saioh had a hypnotic quality about him that made anything he said seem particularly persuasive. It made it hard for _anyone_ to think sensibly about his arguments. Even though Juudai's instincts, always the source of his best decisions, were warning him not to listen, he was having a difficult time finding a way to not believe what he'd been told.

_Even if he's just blowing hot air about us all being controlled by Destiny, maybe I still should have done something. I probably could have tried harder to protect Misawa, or to stop Asuka from dueling Manjoume. If I did things differently, they might never have joined that Society..._

He sighed. It was getting late, and he really was tired. On the bunk bed nearby, Kenzan was already sprawled out and snoring. On the beam overhead, Pharaoh swished his tail and gave a cavernous yawn. It made Juudai sleepy just listening to them.

_If I joined the Society, Manjoume and Asuka and Misawa would be my friends again._

Yes, but what about Shou and Kenzan and Fubuki? They were his friends, and he didn't want to leave them.

_They might follow me, if I went._

And then what? Would he really be able to keep choosing for himself, or would he end up losing his mind like the others and spend the rest of his life bowing to Saioh?

If he made the wrong choice this time, he would _really_ screw things up.

He sighed. It was all too complicated for him. Maybe he ought to just give up for the night, get some sleep, and see if his mind was any more clear in the morning.

The cat yawned again, stretched, and turned over on his side, with his paws hanging over one side of the beam and his tail over the other. Juudai glanced up at him and briefly wondered why he didn't slide off.

_Guess I'm the only one still awake. Better hit the sack..._

Just then, he realized he was not the only one still awake. He could hear a voice. It sounded small and distant, but strangely clear. What it was saying was, "Juudai... Juudai..."

"Oh, great, now I'm hearing things," Juudai muttered.

The voice continued: "Juudai... Juudai... Can you hear me, Juudai? I'm up here!"

Reflexively, Juudai looked up. There was a tiny spark of light hovering around near the ceiling, looking like a confused firefly. It drifted downwards until it was roughly on the level of Juudai's nose, bobbing slightly. Juudai blinked and rubbed his eyes. The spark was still there. Its voice sounded familiar.

"Professor Daitokuji? Is that you?" he asked.

"That's right!" said the spark.

Juudai looked baffled. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"I _am_ dead," Daitokuji replied. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be, really."

Juudai didn't offer to comment on that. He still remembered how Daitokuji had been so afraid of dying that he'd joined an organization that was trying to bring about the end of the world as they knew it, in exchange for a shot at immortality. Granted, the teacher _had_ helped Juudai put a stop to the whole thing, in the end, but that didn't change the fact that he'd done plenty of rotten things first. Juudai's primary impression of the man was that he couldn't be trusted, but that didn't stop Juudai from liking him anyway.

"So if you're dead," he said at last, "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you have gone... somewhere?"

"I think so," said Daitokuji vaguely, "but Pharaoh has other ideas, and have you ever tried arguing with a cat? They just don't listen! So I've been staying here with him. Most of the time I just sleep. It's very peaceful, you know?"

"Yeah. Sure. That's great," said Juudai. "You showed up just to tell me that?"

"Not exactly," Daitokuji replied. "I haven't been able to get a wink of sleep in days! There are some other spirits on this island making such a racket, I can't rest at all. It's driving me crazy! So I thought, Juudai can talk to spirits - I'll ask him to make them be quiet. How about it, hm? One little favor, for old time's sake?"

"Um," said Juudai. "Other spirits? What kind of spirits?"

"Card spirits, like your friend the Kuriboh. Something has them very upset."

"Yeah, that sounds like something I might want to check out," Juudai agreed. "Hey, just out of curiosity, this doesn't have anything to do with Saioh, does it?"

"Him? Sorry, I don't think so."

"Oh, well, never mind, then. Where are these card spirits? I'll see what they want."

"This way!" The spark spun in a circle a few times, and then flew straight out the window.

"I have a door, you know!" said Juudai, but he hurried to catch up anyway.

He sprinted out the door and into the night. It was a misty night, overcast and drizzling softly. That mixed with the spray from the ocean made everything soggy and slick, and Juudai slipped and skidded on the damp grass as he tried to chase after the point of golden light ahead of him. He was so intent on not losing track of Daitokuji amid all the fog that he almost didn't see the edge of the cliff.

"Whoa!" he yelped, jumping backwards as he saw the fog below him part to show crashing waves and sharp rocks.

"Careful!" called Daitokuji cheerfully.

"_Now_ you tell me."

"We need to go down there anyway."

"Yeah, but I'm not ready to wind up as a ghost just yet!" Juudai retorted. "Or go pay a visit to old Abidos, either." He considered a little, as he went looking for the footpath that led down to the edge of the water. "But if you ever run into him again, tell him I said 'hi!'"

"I'll see what I can do," Daitokuji promised. "Careful, now - the rocks are slick tonight. If you fall and hit your head, you're on your own!"

Juudai nodded and concentrated on the climb. The slope was steep and not the easiest thing in the world to navigate, even at the best of times. On a moonless night when the rocks were slick with water, with only the pale light of a nearby ghost to navigate by, it was nerve-wracking.

"There has to be an easier way," Juudai muttered.

"Well," said Daitokuji, "there is another route that would take less climbing..."

"Why didn't you tell me about that _before_ I was halfway down the cliff?"

"This way was shorter."

"Oh, great."

At last, sodden and muddy, and with his hands aching from clinging to the rough rocks, Juudai reached a ledge. It was actually partially submerged now, because of the tides, but there was only just enough water there to wet the soles of his shoes.

"Now where?" he asked.

"This way!"

The ghost light swooped away, and Juudai splashed after it. He reached the end of the ledge and carefully climbed over a few outcropping rocks (which, if not easy to traverse, were at least well out of the water) and ended up standing on a flat piece of water-worn stone that he had never seen before. As the ghostly spark flitted around, its light revealed a dark crack in the cliff. "In there," said Daitokuji. "That's where they are."

Juudai peered into the crack. It looked very deep and dark, and not at all inviting.

"Are you sure it's safe?" he asked.

Even as he asked, he became aware of a movement beside him, and glanced up to see Hane Kuriboh hovering over his shoulder. The dark didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference to him; he showed up clearly all the same.

"Kuri!" it said, giving him an encouraging nod.

"You think it's all right, huh?" said Juudai. "Well, if you say so, it must be true! Come on!"

He wiggled into the opening. It was a tight fit - if he had been just a little bit broader about the shoulders, he wouldn't have gone in at all. As things stood, the whole thing was just barely wide enough and slippery enough that he could wiggle through it. He squirmed along on his stomach, grimacing as water dripped into his eyes, but determinedly continued following Daitokuji and Hane Kuriboh as they flitted along ahead of him. At last, they came to a place where the tunnel widened, and Juudai could get up and crawl on all fours. Beyond that, the tunnel opened up into a wide empty space. Juudai looked around slowly.

"Hey, this place feels familiar..." he said. "Hey, I know - this is the old well!"

He took a few paces into the cavern, looking around and letting his eyes adjust. The well was dim even in full daylight, but now there was almost no light at all save what was emitted by the ghostly spark that was Daitokuji. Still, it was easy to know which way to go, because when Juudai stopped talking and listened, he could distinctly hear an echoing wail. A shiver ran up his spine before he realized that he wasn't hearing the ghastly wails of a malevolent being. What he was hearing was the sound of someone's heartbroken sobs.

_Someone's in trouble!_ he decided, and set off in the direction of the noise.

He hadn't gone very far before he found the source of the sound: three small monsters were sitting on stones near the far side of the room, bawling their eyes out. They were so wrapped up in their misery, it appeared, that they hadn't noticed that a boy and two spirits had come to join them.

"Hey there, guys," Juudai called to them. "What are you three doing down here?"

The Ojamas stopped crying.

"Mister Juudai!" they exclaimed.

Juudai immediately found himself with three little monsters clinging to him. Hane Kuriboh ruffled its feathers in annoyance, but didn't try to stop the Ojamas from hugging its partner. Juudai bore the treatment with a good-natured grin.

"We're so glad to see you, Mister Juudai!" Ojama Yellow wailed. "We thought we'd never _ever_ get out of this well!"

"Big Brother Manjoume threw us away," sobbed Ojama Green. "He said we weren't any good!"

"Ever since he talked to that Saioh guy, he just hasn't been the same," Ojama Black explained with a sniffle. "It's like he can't even see us anymore."

"Yeah, Saioh can do that to a guy," said Juudai grimly, thinking of how he'd been briefly parted from his own spirits.

"We want to go back to Big Brother Manjoume," said Ojama Yellow. "We miss him. It's lonely down here..."

"You know what?" Juudai replied. "I miss him, too. This Society of Light stuff has gone far enough! I don't care what Saioh says," he added, suddenly sounding fierce. "I can't screw things up any worse than he already has. I'm gonna start trying to help my friends the best way I know how - and I'm gonna start by getting Manjoume out of that stupid Society! You guys want to help me?"

"Yeah!" the Ojamas cheered, dancing with excitement.

Juudai opened his deck pouch and scooped the three Ojama cards inside.

"Don't worry, guys. I'll get you out of this mess," he assured them.

"You're the best, Mister Juudai!" said Ojama Yellow, eyes brimming with tears. "We'll never forget your kindness!"

"Well, I'm glad that's all settled," said Daitokuji. He yawned. "I'm going back to sleep, now. Thank you for your help, Juudai... and good luck."

For an instant, Juudai could see a hazy image of a tall, thin man who waved at him briefly before fading into the shadows. The Ojamas boggled.

"Was that a... ghost?" asked Ojama Black.

"Yep," said Juudai carelessly. "Sure was."

The Ojamas gave a yelp and dove back into their cards. Juudai shrugged and closed his card pouch, so they would stay safe and dry on the journey back outside.

_I don't know how I'll do it, yet,_ he thought, _but somehow these Ojamas and I are going to get Manjoume back!_

* * *

Manjoume was restless. His annoyance with Misawa and his showing off had only been aggravated by Saioh's scolding. What did Saioh care if he dueled Misawa? It wasn't as if Misawa would leave the Society if he lost all his medals. Now that he had joined, what difference did it make how he was treated? He could hardly go running back to Juudai and expect to be welcomed with open arms after the way he'd been behaving lately. It wasn't fair that Manjoume had to pretend to respect someone who was nothing more than a pawn in the greater game, and Misawa could strut and boast as much as he pleased and everyone would fall at his feet and say how wonderful he was.

Manjoume walked up and down the halls until he had worked off some of his angry energy, and at last returned to his room. As he walked, he passed by Misawa's room. There were voices inside - happy, laughing, flirtatious voices. It appeared that some of Misawa's female admirers had come to take his mind off the stress of the tournament.

_Dammit! He's just some lame wannabe and he still gets more action than I do!_ Manjoume grumped. It didn't make him feel any better to know that Misawa's sudden popularity with the ladies was due largely to Saioh's influence. Saioh had a way of making people believe him, so when he had gone to four of the prettiest girls in the Society and told them in that inarguable way of his that they found Misawa the most attractive person they had ever met, they never once thought to disagree. What had surprised Manjoume was the ripple effect that had started - several of the other girls seemed to have picked up the notion that if _those_ girls thought he was so desirable, he must be quite a catch, which had prompted them to start following him around as well, and that popularity had drawn further attention...

_How come nothing like that ever happens to me?_

He knew the answer to that. He was really only interested in one girl, and he couldn't quite bring himself to ask, or even want, Saioh to influence her choice. Even if what Saioh said was true, and everything that everyone did was foretold by Destiny, he would have at least liked to have the illusion that Asuka liked him for his own merits, and not because Saioh had planted the idea in her mind. Unfortunately, despite the prediction that they would someday be united, she seemed as distant as ever.

Then he stopped and corrected himself: she seemed, in fact, to be at the end of the hallway, tapping at his door.

"I'm over here," he said.

"Oh!" she looked up. "I'm sorry. You were so quiet I didn't hear you coming. What are you doing out so late?"

"I was just taking a walk," he said. With a grimace, he added, "I had a run in with Saioh's favorite pet a while ago."

"Say no more," she replied. "I have to admit, he's getting a little hard to tolerate. It's hard to believe he's the same person. He always seemed so polite, before."

"Oh, he's polite," said Misawa. "He very politely told me how much better than me he thinks he is. He was entirely mannerly as he insinuated I couldn't duel my way out of a paper bag."

"Well, if you told me the plan correctly, the whole idea was to let the popularity go to his head, so he'd be too wrapped up in himself to pay attention to what the rest of us are doing," said Asuka. "Though I admit that doesn't make him any easier to put up with."

"You're right about that," Manjoume agreed. A burst of particularly loud giggles from the end of the hall made him add, "Do you want to continue this conversation in my room? It would be quieter, that's for sure."

Asuka considered the offer for a moment, and Manjoume unconsciously held his breath in anticipation.

"All right. Why not?" she said.

Manjoume beamed. He opened the door and bowed to her with a murmured, "After you."

"It appears chivalry isn't dead," she said, with amusement in her voice.

"I happen to be a gentleman," said Manjoume. "So... was there... something you wanted to talk about?"

"I just felt like stopping by," she admitted. "It looked like you were upset at dinner tonight. I wanted to see if everything was all right."

"I'm okay," he said. "Just tired of having to keep up this sham. Why do I have to act like I'm inferior to keep _anyone_ happy? For that matter, why should you? Or any of us? There's got to be some way to proceed with Saioh's plans without all of us having to act like Misawa's stooges."

"I suppose only Saioh knows for sure," said Asuka, though without very much conviction. When she had joined the Society of Light, one of the first things she had realized she liked about it was that it gave her a place where people recognized her for her rank and abilities, and not just for her looks. She had believed Saioh when he talked about how all were equal before the Light, and how the only real pursuit of the organization was to bring about the reign of true illumination. Discovering that the Society was as full of politics and bickering as any other group was coming as a rude shock, and the way Saioh "encouraged" the girls to fall at Misawa's feet was something she found sickening. "Still, you're right to say it's tiresome for the rest of us. You aren't the only one having trouble keeping your temper."

"If his ego gets any bigger, we'll have to move him to the ground floor so it doesn't make a ceiling cave in," Manjoume muttered. "I would have shown him a thing or two if Saioh had let me have that duel!"

"You'll have your chance, I'm sure," said Asuka. "It sounds like you're doing very well so far. I've only got five medals, but I've been choosing my opponents instead of just challenging everyone I meet. That's not my style. I won't dishonor myself by challenging someone I know isn't strong enough to defend themselves against me."

"That's what I'm saying," said Manjoume. "It's no big thing to win a stack of medals on the first day, before all the low-ranks are disqualified. The real trick is staying until the end, and that means conserving your strength and picking your targets."

"He's showing off," said Asuka. "He wants everyone to see his new deck."

"He wants everyone to see him _win_."

"One thing is for certain," Asuka said, with a hint of a smile. "After this, I'll never think _you're_ stuck up again."

"You thought I was stuck up?" asked Manjoume.

"Sometimes," said Asuka. "I seem to remember something about you setting up camp in front of the building, with a lawn chair and milkshakes and parasol holders and the rest of that, ordering people around. But the fact is, when there's something important that needs doing, you get your act together and do it. You're not afraid to get your hands dirty if you have to."

"Oh," said Manjoume, feeling his cheeks warming. "Ah... thanks! That... means a lot to me."

She shrugged a little. "Just giving credit where credit is due."

"Yeah, well... thanks anyway. I'll take what I can get," he said.

"That's not true either, I don't think," said Asuka.

Manjoume was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I was just thinking... I'm sure if you asked Saioh, he could probably find someone for you. He's done well enough by our friend over there." She waved in the general direction of Misawa's room.

"I'm not going to do that," said Manjoume. "For one thing, you know you're the only girl I'm interested in, and I wouldn't do that to you."

"Well, I guess not, since you obviously haven't," Asuka replied. "It's weird, now that I think about it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we've been working together day in and day out ever since I joined the Society, and you've barely tried to hit on me at all," she said. "I would have thought you'd use every opportunity you could get. I mean, you're not exactly, you know... subtle."

"Humph," said Manjoume. "It's not my fault. I'm just... occasionally overcome by passion!"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Oh, please."

"It's true," he insisted. "Anyway, Master Saioh told me we were destined for each other, so I don't mind waiting. As long as I have hope, I'll wait for you forever!" He raised his head and laid a hand over his heart, and contrived to look noble and patient.

"What? He did?" Asuka exclaimed. "You must have made that up."

"I did no such thing. Ask him yourself," said Manjoume. "It was just after he brought Misawa into the Society, and Saioh told me he was going to assign some girls to him to keep the guy happy, and I told him I didn't want him to choose you, and he said he wouldn't do it because you were destined to be with me! I asked him to repeat it to make sure."

"Oh," said Asuka, a bit faintly. While she did suspect that Manjoume might say almost anything to get her attention, she didn't think he would dare to lie about something Saioh had said. For one thing, Saioh would know, and no one would dare run the risk of angering him by putting words in his mouth. The inviolate truth of Saioh's words was the foundation of the Society, so there could be few greater crimes than telling a lie in his name.

But he had never, in Asuka's experience, handed out dating advice before.

"You're sure that's what he said?" she asked. "You couldn't have been mistaken?"

"Absolutely sure," he said. "But even if I wasn't, it wouldn't matter. I don't need Saioh to tell me that I love you."

Asuka was startled enough to turn and look at him. This turned out to be a mistake, because it meant meeting his eyes, and once she did that, she found it hard to look away.

"You don't mean that," she told him. "Nobody ever does."

"I mean it."

"They all say that. You aren't the first guy ever to fall for me, Manjoume," she said. "Boys have been having crushes on me since I was ten years old. They all say they're in love with me when they're really looking at my body."

"Then I won't look." He turned around and walked over to the window, looking at the foggy darkness. "But you're still wrong about me. We've been going to the same school forever, haven't we? This school, prep school... if I was going to fall for you just because of your body I'd have done it by now. But I didn't."

"Then why?"

"Well... because... you're peaceful. I mean, when do you ever see me being peaceful? But when I'm with you... the whole world just kind of slows down for a little while. When I'm with you, other stuff doesn't matter so much. That's something I had to get to know you before I could find out. Nobody else ever made me feel that way."

"Oh," she said again. "You never told me that before."

She hesitated a moment, then walked over to stand next to him. He kept his gaze fixedly on the world outside the window, though it was too dark and foggy to see anything at all. Asuka pretended to look outside as well, but out of the corner of her eye, she was watching Manjoume.

_I think he's sincere..._

She wrestled with that idea for a moment. She had always told herself that she was never going to get involved with the romance thing. It was just not what she wanted out of life. She didn't want her heart to be tied down to anyone - didn't want to have to depend on someone else to be happy. She was afraid, deep down, that if she fell in love with someone, it would be at the cost of her freedom. She had seen how the girls in school fawned over her brother. It seemed to her that their brains and spines tended to shut down as soon as their hearts were engaged, and the last thing she could see herself doing was spending her life as an obedient lapdog to some male.

In the case that she did, somehow, fall in love, she had expected it to be with someone like Ryou. It would be safe to fall in love with him, because she knew he didn't want any part of that extravagant emotional whirlwind called romance. If they were together, they would meet once in a while for private candlelit dinners and make quiet, sensible conversation. When it was over, he would walk her to her doorstep, and they would kiss chastely and disengage themselves until next time. That was all the romance she wanted, and she had secretly almost hoped that the two of them would fall in love somehow so she wouldn't have to worry about the issue anymore. But it had never happened: Ryou was a friend and a brother to her, and that was all he wanted from her.

She was not, under any circumstances, supposed to fall in love with someone like Manjoume. He was as far removed from her ideal of a clean, simple, uninvolved romance as she could conceive. He was all emotion and barely controlled energy, impossible to predict. She couldn't imagine ever being able to muster up a passion for anyone that matched his passion for... well, just about everything, really. It exhausted her just thinking about it. It had never occurred to her that he might not expect or even want her to do so. If all he wanted from her was a moment of peace...

_I can do that._

She moved her hand very slightly and closed it around his. He turned to look at her, his expression one of surprise, and she met his gaze calmly.

"Asuka?" he said. "Is something wrong?"

"I just want to make sure you know," she said, "that I'm not very good at being romantic. All that squealing and swooning and sighing just doesn't work for me. But if you don't mind that..."

"All I want," he said, "is to be next to you. Just like this."

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, and she made no move to resist. She realized suddenly that he was going to kiss her if she let him, which didn't surprise her half as much as the realization that she had already decided to do it. She sighed and let herself be drawn into his embrace. If this was Destiny, well, there were worse fates.

_Tap!_

She jumped. "What was that?"

"It was nothing," Manjoume hurried to assure her.

_Tap!_

"No, there it went again," she said. She pulled away and began looking around, trying to find the source of the noise.

"It's not important," said Manjoume imploringly. "It's just a tree branch or the house settling or something. Come on, forget about it."

"No, it sounded like there was something at the window..."

"How could there be anything at the window? We're three floors up!"

"That's why I want to know what's out there."

_SMASH!_

Both Manjoume and Asuka jumped backwards as a fist-sized rock sailed through the window and landed on the carpet in a heap of broken glass. Somewhere outside, a small voice said, "Oops."

Manjoume rushed over to the window, scrambled to open it, and finally leaned outside to stare into the dark.

"Whoever did that, I am going to make you very, _very_ sorry when I get my hands on you!" he bellowed.

"Hey, take it easy!" The voice outside was now recognizable as Juudai's. "I didn't _mean_ to break the window!"

"I'm gonna break a lot more than that when I get my hands on you!" Manjoume shouted back.

"Don't you want to know what I wanted to tell you first?" asked Juudai.

"If it'll make you stay down there, fine, you can tell me whatever you want," said Manjoume, "but _then_ I am going to beat your face in."

"Okay! Whatever," said Juudai.

Manjoume turned away from the window and looked around. Asuka appeared to have decided not to get involved; she had vanished. Snarling foul words under his breath, Manjoume stormed downstairs to have a long talk with Juudai.

Juudai was loitering on the lawn, looking irritatingly cheerful and not at all concerned about what he had just done. Anyone else would have at least looked a little guilty about smashing a window in the noble Obelisk dorm, but Juudai was actually looking relaxed, even eager, as if he thought he might have won a prize.

"All right," Manjoume snapped. "Spill - and it had better be good! You just cost me a kiss from Asuka with your stupid rocks, so if this isn't worth my time, I'm going to throw a few rocks at your head!"

Juudai blinked. "You were kissing Asuka? I thought she didn't even like you."

"I wasn't... never mind! Look, my personal life is none of your business! Just tell me what you dragged me out here in the rain for."

"I wanted to give you your cards back," said Juudai.

"Cards? What cards? You don't have any of my cards."

"Sure I do," said Juudai. "I found your Ojamas."

"Ojamas?" Manjoume repeated. The word felt both completely alien and compellingly familiar at the same time, a sensation he was having a hard time understanding. "What's an Ojama?"

Juudai blinked at him. "C'mon, Manjoume. Don't mess with me. You know - the Ojamas. They're, like, your best cards!"

"That's nonsense," said Manjoume scornfully. "My best card is the White Knight Lord, not some stupid _Ojamas_. You still haven't told me what an Ojama is."

"Oh, geez. Well, um... well, they're these little critters, and they have big mouths and googly eyes and goofy underpants."

"...Underpants? You're outta your mind," said Manjoume. "Look, this joke isn't funny. If you haven't got something important to tell me, then get lost. Go jump off a cliff."

"But it's not a joke! Don't you remember anything?" Juudai asked, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice. "They're your monster spirits - your _friends_. You can't have forgotten them!"

"You're right," said Manjoume. "I can't have forgotten them because _I've never heard of them._ You've obviously eaten some bad shrimp or something, because you're hallucinating."

"I am not," said Juudai stubbornly. He reached into his card pouch and took out three cards. "Look, see? Here they are!"

Manjoume stared a moment, blinking and trying to see clearly. His night vision seemed to have deteriorated somewhat in recent weeks, but he had spent so much time surrounded by bright lights lately that he hadn't noticed.

"Those are the ugliest cards I've ever seen," he said. "Look at them - they don't even have any attack points! And you're telling me these are my best cards? Get real! I've had just about enough of your stupid pranks..."

"It's not a prank!"

"...so you had better sling it up the road before I lose patience with you and sling you up the road myself!"

"Nothing doing," said Juudai. "I don't know what Saioh's done to you, but if you've forgotten about your Ojamas, I'll just have to make you remember again!"

"Just forget it. Whatever game you're playing, I'm not interested."

"Then how about we duel for it?" said Juudai.

"Huh?"

"Duel me!" Juudai repeated. "If you win, I'll leave you alone and never mention the Ojamas to you again. If I win, you have to put them back in your deck."

Manjoume gave Juudai a narrow look. "You're just trying to sabotage me. You want me to put those weak cards in my deck to lower my chances of winning this tournament!"

"I am not!" said Juudai. "Fine. Be that way. Just promise if I win, then you'll take them back. You don't have to put them in your deck - just take them."

"Hmm..." said Manjoume speculatively. He was convinced by now that Juudai had gone completely around the bend, possibly because of the stress of the tournament combined with the pressure that Manjoume and Saioh had been putting on him. This could only be beneficial to the Society of Light, but it was annoying to have the boy hanging around shouting his nonsense. Maybe it would be best just to humor him. "How many medals have you got?"

"Six."

"You haven't even been trying, have you?"

"Hey, I've been trying! People run away when they see me coming!" said Juudai. "How am I supposed to win anything when nobody will duel me?"

"Six medals is hardly enough to worry about," said Manjoume. "Listen, buddy. Meet me in front of the main building at high noon tomorrow, and if you don't have at least a full dozen medals, don't even bother challenging me. If you can do that, maybe I'll take you up on your offer."

"Right. Tomorrow at noon it is, then," said Juudai.

He turned and ambled up the path, apparently not at all concerned with the possibility of losing all his medals to Manjoume. In fact, he seemed to be looking forward to the thing. As he faded into the fog, Manjoume thought he heard Juudai conversing with someone. He strained to hear, but the sound quickly faded away.

_Huh. Coulda sworn I heard him talking to someone. Must be my imagination._

Manjoume shivered. The damp was starting to get to him, and the heavy shadows made him want to get back inside where the lights were burning, as they always were these days. Saioh had ordered that no public part of the building be left unlit at any time of the day. The easiest way to tell if a room belonged to a member of the Society was to see who had a night light plugged in. Manjoume hurried back to his own room. Asuka was long gone, and the space looked sadly empty. Feeling depressed, and thinking longingly of how the evening might have gone if only Juudai hadn't interfered, Manjoume changed into his nightclothes and crawled under his blankets to sleep.

But sleep did not come easily to him. He tossed and turned, his brain filled with cluttered images that shifted from one thing to another with no discernable pattern. He tried to occupy himself with thoughts of Asuka, on the grounds that if he couldn't have her there in reality, he ought to at least be allowed to think about her, but even those pleasant visions could not hold his attention for very long. What was preying on his mind at the moment was the issue of Juudai and the Ojamas.

_Why is he so determined to pass those things on to me? It's not like it'll make any difference. I'd just stuff them in a box with the rest of the trash cards..._

Still, there was something about Juudai's conviction that irked him. Whatever the crazy reasoning behind it, Juudai really seemed to _believe_ that these three cards were somehow important to Manjoume and had to be returned to him at any cost. Of course, it might not have bothered Manjoume so much if he didn't have the nagging feeling that Juudai might actually be right. He wished he could understand why they seemed so familiar...

_Wait a minute... didn't I throw some cards away a while back? Right after I dueled Misawa? I'm pretty sure I did, but now I can't remember what they were. How could I have cards in my deck and forget them completely? I memorize all the stats of every card in my deck! I shouldn't forget an easy thing like what they look like..._

To further confound him, he suddenly realized that he couldn't remember what the cards Juudai had just shown him had looked like. Admittedly, he had been looking at them with only the light filtering through the windows behind him to see them by, but he definitely remembered having a visceral reaction to seeing them. The image itself, however, appeared to have been obliterated from his brain.

_What is wrong with me? Why have I got such a mental block about these cards?_

Juudai seemed to think it was Saioh's doing, but that had to be wrong... hadn't it? Of course Saioh _could_ do that sort of thing - Manjoume probably could have gotten a good example of it if he'd cared to check a few doors down, and look in on the girls who wouldn't have given Misawa the time of a day a few weeks ago, and now seemed convinced that he was the ideal man. But Saioh wouldn't lie to Manjoume, would he? Sure he had lied to Misawa, and okay, maybe a lot of the other Society members had been unwittingly sucked into the scheme, but everyone knew that Saioh always told the truth... sometimes... when it suited him...

Manjoume tossed and turned, finding himself becoming steadily more agitated instead of falling asleep. How could he even begin to consider the possibility that Saioh was manipulating him? If he let himself believe that, he might as well go ahead and say that the whole Society was a sham, and he'd been letting himself be played for a fool the whole time...

_No! I won't believe it! Saioh is telling the truth, he has to be. His powers are real. He can't be lying about that, because I've seen him in action._

Yes, he couldn't be lying about that, but that didn't mean he wasn't using them only to serve himself.

_He's devoted to the cause of the Light. Anyone can see that. He's going to put an end to the darkness and bring in a glorious new age..._

If there were no shadows, what happened to the people who cast them?

Eventually, Manjoume dropped into an uneasy sleep, and dreamed that he was wandering around in a building that looked like the Obelisk dorm, except that everything in it was a pure and eye-searing shade of white, from the carpets to the ceilings. He wandered up and down the halls, hearing voices calling to him from somewhere. He tried to follow them, but they were coming from behind the closed doors, which turned into blank white walls every time he tried to open one. He finally saw one that was ajar, and looked through the opening to see Asuka standing there.

"I'm sorry," she told him, "but we can't be together anymore. I wish we could, but there's no such thing as Destiny."

He leaped for the door, trying to hold it open, but it slipped through his fingers like white smoke, and melted into the wall.

"It's no good trying," said Misawa's voice knowledgeably. "It's all a lie. All the doors in here are lies."

Manjoume turned around to see another door open behind him, with Misawa standing and watching him with a smug expression.

"Sorry, but you can't get in," he said. "All the doors are lies, and you don't believe in them anymore."

"I just want to get out!" said Manjoume.

"Then you had better find the real door, hadn't you?" said Misawa, as he shut the door and disappeared.

"You'd better hurry, Manjoume!" called a cheerful voice, and he turned to see Juudai grinning at him. "I've already won five thousand medals today! How many have you got?"

"I don't care about that now!" he told Juudai. "Just tell me how to get out of here!"

"Follow the Ojamas. They'll steer you right."

"But I can't remember what they look like!"

"Follow the Ojamas," Juudai told him again, and he, too, went up in smoke.

Manjoume spun around, looking for anything that could possibly be an Ojama, but all he saw were white walls, white floors, white ceilings, and white windows that looked out on a blank white landscape. Then, somewhere in the distance, he heard a small voice calling, "Big Brother... Big Brother Manjoume..."

He shook himself. He knew he had never been anyone's big brother, but then, he couldn't remember any Ojamas either, so it seemed sensible in his dream that nonexistent monsters should have an impossible relationship with him. He broke into a sprint, chasing after the voices. They always remained a little bit ahead of him, no matter how fast he ran - always just around a corner or down the stairs. Still, he ran and ran and ran, until at last, he came to a door that wasn't white at all, but brown, and patterned with swirled markings. He stared at it and realized that it wasn't a wooden door like the others, but one that was made of three cards in a vertical row. He knew if he could just see the other side of that door, he could finally get a look at those Ojamas, and he would understand everything. He grabbed the handle and pulled.

A shaft of searing white light came pouring in, and he realized that he was too late, that the world had already been burned away into pure white light, and he was burning with it, as the light forced its way past his skin and into his blood and bones, and he was burning away to ash...

Then he opened his eyes and found himself in pure darkness. The lamp he kept next to his bed, as per Saioh's orders, had gone out. There was no moon or stars to be seen that night, and the inside of Manjoume's room was filled with thick black shadow. He wrapped his arms around himself, wishing he could hug those shadows around him like a security blanket. After the horror of the dream, the darkness felt cool, secret, and safe. It had been a long time since he had seen darkness like this, and seeing it now was like taking the first bite of his favorite food and suddenly realizing that he was ravenously hungry and hadn't noticed before. He took deep breaths as he waited for his heartbeat to slow down.

"What a nightmare," he muttered.

A good Society member, at that point, would have gotten up and found another light - there were always several nearby - to replace the broken one, but Manjoume had the feeling that if he turned the lights on before he went back to sleep, he would go straight back to having nightmares. It was a strange feeling to realize he trusted the darkness more than the light, but his sleepy mind was less concerned with matters of philosophy and theology, and more concerned with getting a good night's rest. If he had to do it in the dark, so be it, and if he happened to be caught at it, he could say honestly that the light had broken in the night and there was nothing he could have done about it. In the meantime, he was content to lie there, listen to the gentle patter of rain outside, and enjoy the leisure of not having to _see_ everything all the time. It was soothing.

_Maybe I should take a walk,_ he thought dreamily. Even the thought of going out in the rain was appealing. It would be just as cool and pleasant and secret out there, even if it would be slightly damp. _Maybe the night air will clear my head... if I could just get myself out of bed..._

It was at that point that things became a bit hazy for him. It was possible that he got up at that point, and just as possible that he dozed off and simply dreamed he did. At any rate, he found himself wandering down the halls of the Obelisk dormitory and finding everything mysteriously dark, which was evidence that he was dreaming, because the dorm was _never_ dark these days. Still, the dream was realistic enough that he stubbed his toe a few times when he overlooked some object in his path and kicked his bare foot against it. He persisted in walking anyway, until he reached the main foyer. He had been vaguely considering going outside, but it sounded as if it were raining harder now, and he finally decided that he didn't care for the idea of getting soaked to the skin. Instead, he chose to walk laps around the grand hall, which was large enough that he could burn off a good bit of energy doing so.

He was on about his sixth or seventh lap, when the door to the building opened up, and in blew a lot of rainwater, along with someone who wasn't Saioh. Manjoume wasn't certain how he knew this, because the person was wearing what Saioh usually wore, and had the same distinct hair coloring and style, and yet, he wasn't Saioh. Maybe it had something to do with the lines of his face, which were softer than the sharp, gaunt contours of Saioh's face. Maybe it was the gentle, sad look in his eyes. Manjoume had never seen that look in the real Saioh's eyes.

"Hello, Manjoume," said the person who wasn't Saioh. "It is late for you to be still awake."

"I had a nightmare," Manjoume confessed. It was easy to admit something like that to a person who could very well be simply a figment of his imagination.

"Dreams can be portentous," the stranger murmured. "You would do well to pay attention to them."

"I will," said Manjome. "So... who are you? I know you're not Saioh."

The stranger smiled sadly. "I am not the Saioh you know. I am, perhaps, only Saioh's shadow."

"Huh. Weird-looking shadow," Manjoume muttered. "So, Mr. Shadow, how come you're out walking around and not attached to Saioh?"

"Saioh would prefer that there were no shadows attached to him," the shadow-man said, with a wry smile. "He has tried very hard to be rid of me. Ironically, that gives me more freedom to oppose him than I would have if he concentrated on keeping me close at hand. And because I am a shadow, I find I can move freely in the dark. But to answer your question, I went to give some small gifts to Juudai and Ed. Saioh will be very angry when he awakens and learns of this."

"Yeah, well, I guess that's his problem," Manjoume muttered. Under ordinary circumstances, it probably would have been his own problem, too, but he hardly saw how he could be called upon to discipline a shadow. For all he knew, his hand would pass straight through the man if he tried to touch him.

"It is," the shadow agreed.

"So are you the one who turned out all the lights, then?" he asked.

"No one turned them out. They went out by themselves," said the shadow. "I believe there has been a minor electrical malfunction, most likely caused by Saioh's insistence on having the lights burning brightly twenty-four hours a day. I am sure they will be repaired by tomorrow."

"Oh. Right," said Manjoume. He hadn't considered that possibility. "I thought my light bulb burned out."

"Perhaps it did," the shadow replied. "Would you care to walk with me? I believe our rooms are in the same general direction."

Manjoume thought it over. Then he shrugged. "Sure. Might as well." After all, nobody said he couldn't turn around and walk back if he felt like it.

He fell in step alongside the shadow man. He noticed that this duplicate-Saioh's feet made no sound when they struck the floor. He also didn't appear to be wet, for all that he had just come in out of the rain. Well, why not? Everything else was weird tonight.

"Hey," he said, "if you're Saioh's shadow, does that mean you can do the fortune-telling bit like he can?"

"Yes."

"Okay. So do _you_ know what an Ojama is?"

"The shadow of a shadow."

"Come again?"

"If the person you are now is your light side, then the person you were before is your shadow in the same way that I am Saioh's shadow. And that person's shadow was the Ojamas."

"Oh," said Manjoume. "You know, you make absolutely no sense."

"That is possible," the man agreed. "Is that what you are worrying about tonight, that prompted you to go on a late-night stroll - the identity of the Ojamas?"

"Kind of," said Manjoume. "I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

"That is appropriate, for one whom the cards have identified with the Hanged Man."

"Saioh told me that the Hanged Man stands for stagnation," said Manjoume.

"It can," the man replied, "but it has other meanings as well. It can simply refer to a time of reflection - of gathering one's thoughts and energies in preparation of things to come. It can even be an indication of spiritual enlightenment. I suppose you haven't heard the story of the Tarot."

"There's a story?"

"Yes. The cards in the Major Arcana tell a story about a foolish man who eventually gains all the wisdom in the world. That is why the first card in the deck is the Fool."

"Juudai is the Fool," Manjoume pointed out.

"Perhaps so, but in the story, the Fool and the Hanged Man are the same person."

"Oh," said Manjoume. "Wait a minute, are you calling me a-"

"Listen," the man interrupted, and Manjoume listened. Apparently even Saioh's shadow had a way of getting people to do as he said. "According to the story, the Fool begins his journey knowing nothing, but as he travels, he meets many people and sees many things. At last, he comes to a point where he has to stop and rest, to digest all that he has learned so far. He finds a tree and sits underneath it for nine days and watches everything that goes past him - people, animals, birds, the wind, rain, clouds, stars, the sun and moon, everything that moves. On the ninth day, he grows weary of sitting still, so he climbs up into the tree and hangs upside-down there."

"Stupid thing to do."

"Not at all. He hangs there because he has given up being serious for the moment, and is merely playing, like a child. As he hangs there, he watches everything in his pockets fall out and tumble to the ground, and as he watches them fall, he has an insight. He suddenly sees himself suspended between the spiritual world and the material world, and realizes the connections between himself, the two worlds, and all things contained therein. Because he has stopped struggling and resisting, and instead makes himself vulnerable - and even foolish-looking - he gains great wisdom."

"Oh."

"And here is your room," said the man, stopping in front of Manjoume's door. "Goodnight. Sleep peacefully."

Manjoume didn't reply, but the shadow didn't seem to expect him to. He glided away and disappeared into the dark hallway. Manjoume stood there a moment, waiting to hear if someone opened the door to Saioh's room, but the hallway remained silent. With a shrug, he headed into his own room and closed the door behind him. As he crawled back under his blankets, he thought, _I've never had a dream tell me a bedtime story before. That's different._

Different or not, though, it seemed to have worked. He felt far more relaxed now, and pleasantly clear-headed, rather the way he felt when he'd gotten over a long illness and woken up to realize he didn't feel sick anymore. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

When he dreamed again, his dreams were neither confusing nor unpleasant. He dreamed he was hanging by one ankle from the branch of a sturdy tree. A gentle wind rocked him, and he watched dreamily as the earth swung back and forth beneath him. Three cards fell out of his pockets, and he watched as they spun to the ground. He smiled, because they had landed face-up and he could finally see what they were.

**To Be Continued**


	4. Treachery

**Treachery**

**By: SilvorMoon**

It looked like it was going to be another glorious day. The rain had cleared up in the night, and the world had a freshly-washed look about it. Misawa, up at the crack of dawn as usual, opened his window to enjoy the fresh morning air.

"Life is good," he told himself.

He went through his morning grooming routine, changed into his fresh white uniform, picked up his deck and thumbed through it, mostly just to admire his wonderful new cards, and then ambled downstairs to breakfast. Despite his early awakening, he had showered and dressed at a leisurely pace, so there were already plenty of people downstairs eating when he got there.

"Hey, Misawa, come sit with us!"

"No, over here!"

He couldn't repress a smile; this tournament was exactly what he had needed to put his popularity ratings over the top. The general consensus in the Society was that he was the favorite to carry off the gold, and everyone seemed to want to be on his good side all of a sudden. Whether that was because they were really that impressed by him, or because they were hoping that if they acted friendly towards them, he might not single them out for a duel, he hadn't bothered to consider. He simply picked out the table where the most people had already gathered and seated himself among them. They immediately scrambled to make sure he had everything he wanted in terms of juice and muffins and extra butter and whatever else they could think of that he might want to be well supplied with.

"Thank you, but that really isn't necessary," he told them.

"Yeah, but we want to help!" said one boy eagerly. He was one of the few Whites who had lost his medals the first day. "You've got to keep up your strength so you can win big for the sake of the Society!"

"Well, there is that," he admitted. He picked a banana-nut muffin out of the basket and began buttering it.

_This isn't half bad! Not even Saioh is getting treated like this,_ he thought.

And indeed, it was true. Saioh had turned up for breakfast that morning, but he looked rather drawn and preoccupied, and seemed to have no interest in food. There was nothing before him but dry toast and coffee, and he wasn't even paying a great deal of attention to that. He was, however, trying very hard to ignore Manjoume.

"...but Master Saioh, this is important," the boy was pleading. "I really need to know..."

"You can put off knowing for a little while," said Saioh, unusually terse. "I have other things on my mind."

"But..."

"No."

"If you'd just tell me what it _means_..."

"That is not for you to know," said Saioh. "The mysteries of the Tarot are for those with the power to understand them. You have your own work to do. Concentrate on getting that done before you bother me about things that are beyond your comprehension."

Manjoume looked sullen. "Yes, Master Saioh. I think I understand."

"Good. Then leave me be. I have important matters to consider, and I have no time for your useless questions."

Manjoume walked off, radiating annoyance, and hid himself at the far end of a mostly empty table.

_I wonder what's wrong with him?_ Misawa wondered. Mysteries intrigued him, even when they were none of his business. _Why could he possibly want to know anything about the Tarot, anyway? He doesn't strike me as the spiritual type..._ Even Misawa, who had come to accept that Saioh's powers as genuine, still harbored a healthy skepticism regarding Tarot cards. As far as he was concerned, they were on the same level as a Ouija board - a set of pretty pictures you could use to express what was already lurking in your subconscious, with interpretations so vague that you could claim they meant almost anything. They wouldn't be any good to someone who wasn't like Saioh and didn't already have the gift of foreknowledge. Why Manjoume would be so passionately interested in the subject this morning was a puzzle. He made a point to keep an eye on Manjoume throughout the meal, and when he finally slipped away, Misawa excused himself and followed him.

"Where are you sneaking off to all alone?" he asked him, as he caught up to Manjoume in an empty hallway.

"Nowhere. What do you care?" Manjoume snapped back.

"I just thought you seemed to be acting unusual this morning, and wondered what you were doing," Misawa replied.

"Nothing. I just had a question for Saioh, and he wouldn't answer it, and it ticked me off," said Manjoume. "Nothing more to say."

"What was the question?"

"Are you always this nosy?"

"I have a compassionate interest in my fellow human beings," said Misawa. In a burst of honesty, he added, "And also, I'm nosy."

"Humph. Well, if you must know, I asked him what the meaning of the Tarot card called The Hanged Man is."

"That's all?"

"I wanted to know, all right?" said Manjoume. "Hasn't Saioh ever done a Tarot reading for you?"

"No," said Misawa, feeling a pang as he realized he might have missed out on something.

"Well, he did one for me, and he says the Hanged Man represents me. I had a weird dream about it last night and wanted to know if it meant something," said Manjoume, "so I asked Saioh about it, since he's supposed to be the expert in all that, and he told me to buzz off."

"Then maybe it's not important," Misawa suggested.

"It's important to _me_," said Manjoume. "I'm telling you, if I don't get some straight answers soon, I might just listen to my dream instead of Saioh. It was a lot more informative than he's being."

"You're going to trust a _dream_ over Saioh?" Misawa repeated incredulously. "Speaking from a purely objective, scientific standpoint... you've lost your mind."

"Maybe so," Manjoume muttered. "It would help if Saioh would just _answer_ me, but he's got more _important_ things to worry about than what I think."

"Perhaps that should be your answer, then," said Misawa. "In the list of important things to do, talking about dreams is fairly low on the list. Listen, Manjoume. No matter how compelling a dream is, it's only a collection of random nerves firing in your brain, causing a series of mental images which your mind tries to interrelate into a cohesive whole because it's human instinct to try to find order in chaos. Dreams are brain static - nothing more, nothing less. They don't _mean_ anything."

"Then let's say they put an idea in my head, and I can't shake it," Manjoume replied. "I mean, I _want_ to believe Master Saioh, but when he won't answer my questions..."

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"You wouldn't be able to answer," sand Manjoume, rolling his eyes.

Misawa took that as a personal affront; it was a matter of pride to him that anything he didn't know, he would at least know where to find out.

"Try me," he said.

"Fine. I want to know what the Hanged Man really means. I want to know why I can't remember anything about those Ojama cards. I want to know what's really going to happen when the Society takes over the world. I want to know if Saioh has been lying to me. I want..." He took a long breath. "I want to know why the darkness feels better than the light."

Misawa was silent for a moment.

"Say that last bit again," he said.

"I woke up in the middle of the night last night, after all those crazy dreams," said Manjoume, "and a circuit breaker or something had blown out, and everything was pitch black. I knew I should try to do something about it, but I didn't. I just couldn't bring myself to do anything. It felt too good for me to want to change it."

"There's something wrong with you."

"I knew you wouldn't listen to me," said Manjoume.

"I don't believe you," said Misawa. "How can you call yourself a member of the Society of Light - and one of rank, at that - and start talking this way about darkness? You'll lose your place with Saioh if you keep up that kind of talk."

Manjoume gave him a sardonic look. "Well, look who's got _his_ priorities straight."

"I'm being practical," said Misawa defensively. "I personally believe in Saioh and what he's doing, but if you feel like questioning him, that's your business. My advice is just to keep quiet about it. You've got a good thing going here; I know if I were you, I wouldn't want to give it up."

"Humph," Manjoume grumbled. "What are you telling me that for? You probably _want_ me to give up the whole thing so you can take my place."

"Wait a minute - are you actually talking about leaving the Society?" asked Misawa, aghast. Ever since he had joined the Society, he had never thought even fleetingly of leaving - he had been thanking his lucky stars that he'd seen the light and asked to join. He was having trouble imagining what would prompt anyone, especially someone of Manjoume's standing, to even consider that there might be a reason to leave. His own personal satisfaction aside, his experience thus far had led him to believe that everyone in the Society was completely happy. They wept with joy as Saioh spoke to them of the new world they would be creating together, and worked enthusiastically towards the cause, filled with contentment by the knowledge that they were accomplishing something great together. The thought that the highest-ranking member of the group next to Saioh himself - the person in the best position to know what the current state of the Society really was - might be having second thoughts was a deeply troubling one.

"I don't know," said Manjoume. "But I think later today, I'm going to find out."

"How are you going to do that?"

"By talking to Juudai."

"Isn't he the one who's supposedly destined to bring about the downfall of the Society if he isn't stopped?"

"Right. That one."

"Now, wait just one minute here," said Misawa, flaring up. "It's all right for you to start questioning things yourself, but if you're going to try to ruin it for the rest of us, I'm going to have to put a stop to it! That's treason, and if you do it, I'll tell Saioh."

"I already tried to tell him. He isn't listening," said Manjoume.

"In that case, I would advise being patient until he's got time for you," said Misawa. "Master Saioh is a very important man, and if he is working on something, you can be sure it's something worthwhile."

"Suck-up."

"I'm being sensible," said Misawa. "All this business about Saioh lying to you... what on earth do you think he's lying about?"

"I don't know, okay?"

"Then it seems to me that your fears are groundless. Are you sure you're not just letting the pressure of the tournament get to you?"

"The only thing getting to me is you," Manjoume snapped. "You're just so sure you know everything! Well, you know what? This is one time where I know more than you!"

He stormed off, leaving Misawa to stand there alone, completely baffled.

_I don't know what's gotten into him,_ he thought. _He seemed fairly rational yesterday. Did he hit his head on something?_

Still, whatever the problem was, it seemed to have Manjoume seriously rattled. Why else would someone who had invested so much time, energy, and fanatic devotion into a cause, suddenly turn around and start doubting, or worse yet, thinking about quitting it all? From one perspective, it looked insane, but from another...

_What if he really does know something I don't?_

That was a sobering thought. It was common knowledge that Manjoume would, as Saioh's closest helper, be called into the great man's rooms to discuss plans for the Society. Indeed, Asuka was also called upon at times, sometimes alone and sometimes in Manjoume's company. Everyone knew that these two knew things about the Society that lesser members were never told, or only found out about later, and accepted it calmly enough. Most people seemed willing to do as they were directed without having to sit through dull explanations of the reasoning behind it all. Manjoume seemed to enjoy it, though - whether because he had inherited some managerial genes from his business-minded family, or whether he just liked being in the know. Either way, if there was something rotten at the heart of the Society, he would be the first person to get a scent of it.

But if that was true, then it meant, among other things, that Misawa had been fooled, and he wasn't prepared to accept a conclusion like that based solely on Manjoume's erratic behavior. Manjoume tended to be a little erratic at the best of times, so there was only so much faith you could put in him without investigating the matter a bit further.

_Come to think of it, this could very well be a strategy to get me into trouble with Saioh,_ he mused. If he spun a wild tale about wanting to betray the Society, and Misawa carried it back to Saioh, Manjoume was fully capable of denying he had wanted to do any such thing, and Misawa would be the one who looked stupid. That was just the kind of crazy thing Manjoume did when he wanted to get even with people. Misawa dimly remembered an incident from what felt like decades ago, something about having to duel with Manjoume and Manjoume stealing his cards and throwing them into the ocean. If he could do something like that, then pulling a manipulative stunt like this wasn't something that could be put past him.

_The best thing to do would be to collect more evidence,_ Misawa decided. He would keep a covert eye on Manjoume to see what he did, and if he showed no signs of actually going over to the enemy, then all would be well and the matter could be allowed to drop. And if for some strange reason, he did decide to defect, Misawa would be the first to report the news back to Saioh.

_I really don't see anyone as ambitious as Manjoume giving up his place here and going back to Osiris Red. He wouldn't be able to humble himself like that. But if he does, his loss may very well be my gain._

* * *

Just because he had an appointment at noon didn't mean Manjoume couldn't get some work done in the meantime. Society or no Society, dueling was his first priority, and there was enough time for at least four or five duels between breakfast and noon.

"Thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight..." he counted, hooking the medals one by one to the inside of his coat. He was going to have to go back to his room and stash them somewhere soon, he thought, before his jacket became too weighted down to wear. His initial thinking had been right: you could definitely earn more medals more quickly as the lesser players were removed from the game, and the better players were netting increasingly high numbers of medals. The professionals were drifting in, too, and some of them were already worth thirty or forty medals by themselves, if you could catch them. He had stalked a few of the lower-ranking pros, and had been pleased to find out that he could deal with them without much more hassle than it took to pick off high-ranking students. He had always suspected that he played on a professional level, but it was nice to have his suspicions confirmed. He was especially pleased that he had won without using that strange skill Saioh had "taught" him.

_Looks like I really don't need him to be a great duelist,_ he mused.

"Fifty-two," he finished, as he put the last medal in place. "Not a bad morning's work, if I do say so myself."

He shrugged his jacket back on, listening to the satisfying clink and clank his winnings made. It felt good to think he had accomplished this much by himself. After devoting every minute of every day for so long solely to the Society of Light, he had almost forgotten the pleasure of doing something just because he wanted it done. He had set out that morning with good intentions, telling himself to forget his reservations and concentrate on attaining a victory for the glory of the Light, but somewhere along the line, that intention had been forgotten next to the sheer pleasure of dueling. He hadn't been thinking about some glorious white-hued future; he was thinking about the adrenaline rush of battle, the feeling of command as he watched his monsters do exactly as he had planned for them to do, the clarity of mind that came from intensely focusing on strategy. That had nothing to do with serving someone else's purpose, and everything to do with enjoying himself. The fierce joy he got from winning was even better than the vague bliss of the Light. Even so, it felt strangely like something was missing.

_Saioh would say it's because I've turned away from the Light, or something,_ he mused. _He always has a nice neat answer like that._ Somehow, though, he was not sure that attitude would work for him. It was getting harder to keep some abstract ideal in his mind when he was in the middle of watching a monster bearing down on him and knowing he had better do something fast before he was given a severe jolt. Manjoume was starting to want something a little more concrete to fight for than a promise that someday the world would be wonderful. If it wasn't working for him _right now_, why should he believe it would work years from now?

_I'm not getting anything from the Society that I couldn't get myself, except for stuff I don't want anyway._

A niggling voice, one last vestige of Saioh's training, whispered to him that he couldn't fight his own Destiny. He had seen clearly that Saioh had the power of prognostication - everything he and those cards of his predicted came true. Manjoume had already seen what happened when he challenged Saioh's prophecies. For all his boasting that he would form his destiny with his own hands, everything had still fallen out in Saioh's favor.

_Then if I can't change my future with my own hands, I'll find someone who can help me do it,_ he decided. After all, he told himself, that was what important people did: they hired skilled people and got _them_ to do what needed doing.

And that, he decided, as the noonday bells chimed, meant talking to Juudai.

_Seems like it always comes down to this: me and Juudai, staring each other down. And somehow it always ends up with him on the winning end. I guess that's what Saioh would call stagnation._

Manjoume made his way up to the front of the school, and, seeing no sign of Juudai, sat down on the front steps to wait. He felt oddly calm. Maybe this was how Saioh felt all the time, knowing exactly what would come next every minute of the day. Knowing that he was about to duel Juudai felt about as natural to Manjoume as drawing his next breath. They would fight, and one of them would win, and that was the way it would be until the world turned around and brought them together to fight again. And that was all right. If one thing could be said for Juudai, was that he made an interesting opponent. If Manjoume was stuck dueling the same person over and over for the rest of his life, he didn't mind it being Juudai.

_Saioh says I'm never going to win until I stop thinking of him as a friend._

He had believed that, once. His life had been suffused with an all-or-nothing mentality - either you won or you lost; you were at the top or the bottom; you were weak or strong; you were used or you used someone; you were an enemy or an ally. It was impossible to go two directions at once, so it made sense to believe that he could not both sincerely want to defeat Juudai and also like and respect him. If it took a burst of white light to burn such impossibly conflicting thoughts out of his mind, that had seemed like a reasonable price to pay.

Juudai came racing up the path, panting from his run and flushed with excitement, with his two best friends hurrying along behind him.

"Sorry I'm late!" he called as he ran. "Batteries on my Duel Disk went dead, and I had to get new ones!"

"Whatever," Manjoume snapped. "Did you bring the cards?"

"Got 'em right here," said Juudai. He reached into his card pouch and pulled out three cards. "I'm not letting you get out of this! You're taking these cards back just as soon as we finish this duel!"

Manjoume made a show of stretching lazily, leaning back on the steps, pillowing his head on his folded arms, and crossing his legs. He yawned.

"What if I don't feel like dueling?" he asked. "What then?"

Juudai looked heartbroken. "But you _promised_. Today at noon. That's what you said."

"Well, it isn't noon anymore, is it?" Manjoume replied. "Sorry, buddy - that train's gone."

"But..."

Manjoume gave him a long cool look. Juudai, he had always thought, was a bit of an idiot. A Fool, if you wanted to take that route. But he was one of the only people in the world who knew Manjoume - really knew him, not just the outward facade. He had seen Manjoume with his defenses down, had even seen him crying once. Despite all that, he seemed to like Manjoume anyway. Somehow Juudai had always believed that the best parts of Manjoume's nature were the most important ones. Manjoume knew that if he wanted a friend, Juudai was probably the best one he could have. If he wanted one.

"Since I'm such a nice guy," Manjoume drawled, "I'll give you a second chance. Convince me you've got my best interests at heart. If you can convince me I ought to listen to you instead of Saioh, not only will I take those stupid Ojama cards back, I'll turn in my white jacket and leave the Society of Light for good." He glanced at his watch. "You've got five minutes. Go."

"Convince you?" Juudai repeated doubtfully. "I thought we were going to duel."

"I told you, I don't feel like it," said Manjoume. "And you're wasting your time. Four minutes. Do you think I should leave the Society or don't you?"

"Well... yeah!"

"Yeah, what?"

"Yeah, you should leave!" said Juudai. "Saioh's a creep, and he does nothing but brainwash people and turn him into their puppets, and you're better than that. That's what you were trying to get away from with your brothers, weren't you? You wanted to be your own person, and not live up to what someone else has planned for you. Your real friends are the ones who aren't trying to use you for anything and don't care if you win or lose - and that's me, and Shou and Kenzan and Fubuki, and the Ojamas, too!"

"Supposing I don't want any friends?"

"Well... you still want to be a duelist, don't you?" Juudai persisted. "Why should you give up your dream to go to work for Saioh? Face it, the Light's not for you. You're the phoenix who rose from the depths of Hell - remember that? _That's_ the real Manjoume Thunder."

"Well, maybe I like the new me better. Then what?"

Juudai's expression darkened. "Then I'm going to work as hard as I can to change your mind... because it's my fault you ended up where you are, and I'm going to take responsibility for it."

That got Manjoume's attention. He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Juudai nodded. "I didn't see it, at first. I used to think that dueling was all just for fun, and it didn't really matter whether you won or lost. I didn't know that losing could hurt until I lost that duel to Ed. You're my friend, Manjoume, and I hurt you and didn't even know it. There was a lot I could have done differently, and it makes me mad to think about it, but this time I'm going to do right by you - and that means doing whatever it takes to get you out of that Society and back where you belong!"

Juudai was looking slightly breathless by the time he had finished this impassioned speech. There was a ringing silence after he'd finished. Manjoume glanced at his watch again.

"That took more than five minutes," he said.

More silence followed. Juudai and his friends exchanged glances. Manjoume suppressed a smirk.

If Manjoume had wanted a friend, Juudai would have been the best one he could have asked for. If he had wanted a rival, there was probably no one on the island with as much skill as Juudai had. But the Hanged Man existed between extremes, neither fully in heaven nor on earth, but somewhere in the middle. His great flash of insight was to know that the two places were inextricably linked - that not only could you have both, but it was impossible not to.

_You were wrong, Saioh. I don't have to choose between anything. I've got it all right here._

"Well, I've made a decision," he said. "I'm not doing anything."

He watched Juudai's face fall, and then quickly harden again into a determined expression.

"I'm not doing anything," Manjoume said again, "until somebody gets me my jacket, because I've had it up to here with this stupid white getup!"

There was a joyous whoop from Juudai and his friends, and Manjoume smiled slightly. Whether it was his imagination or the last remnants of the spell he'd been under falling apart, he felt as if he had been smothering under a heavy blanket that had just now been pulled away. Already he found himself wondering what he'd ever seen in Saioh.

"Here," said Juudai, pressing the three cards into Manjoume's hands, "hang on to these and I'll be right back!"

Juudai rushed off with his friends trailing him. Manjoume looked down at the cards in his hand. They looked back at him.

"B...Big Brother?" asked Ojama Yellow tremulously. "Can you hear me?"

Manjoume rolled his eyes. "Of course I can hear you, you frog-eyed twit! You guys never shut up!"

His response was a chorus of overjoyed squeals, and he found himself being tackle- hugged by an assortment of spirits. Fortunately, being spirits, they didn't cause much in the way of physical discomfort, but he shooed them away anyway.

"All right, all right, you don't have to get all slobbery," he said. "Just because I decided I wanted you back doesn't mean you have to make an issue out of it."

The Ojamas looked up at him with eyes brimming with tears.

"You really wanted us back?" asked Ojama Green.

"Sure I did," said Manjoume. "You're all a bunch of pains in the neck, but you're _my_ pains in the neck, and anybody who doesn't understand that is asking for trouble!"

"Aww, shucks, we love you, too!" Ojama Black said.

"Yeah, well... don't go spreading it around," Manjoume muttered. "So are we going to win this tournament or what?"

"You bet, Big Brother!" the Ojamas assured him.

"Right," said Manjoume. "But first thing we're gonna do - we're gonna get rid of this stupid deck!"

With that, he took out his deck - full of rare and powerful cards that Saioh had given him - and picked out every last one of the pretty white cards and sent them sailing off on the breeze. When the last one was gone, he tucked the Ojamas safely into what remained of his deck Just as he was finishing that, Juudai arrived, waving Manjoume's jacket over his head like a black flag.

"Got it!" he exclaimed jubilantly.

"Well, fork it over already!" Manjoume snapped back. He shed his white jacket (which landed with a clatter on the steps, as the medals clashed against each other) and pulled his old one on. He remembered fleetingly his desire, when he had awoken in the night, to pull the shadows around him and hold them close; this felt like the answer to his wish.

"Looking good, Manjoume!" said Juudai.

Manjoume clicked his tongue. "That's not what you're supposed to call me. The _correct_ phrase is..." He held up one finger. "_Ichi_..."

Juudai grinned as he recognized the familiar chant. "_Jyuu!_"

"_Hyaku_!" Shou and Kenzan chimed in.

"_Sen_!"

"_Manjoume Thunder!_"

Manjoume took a moment to revel in the sound of his own personal cheer. No matter how many times he heard it, it still sounded good. Then his face fell.

"I've got to re-pin all my medals," he said.

Meanwhile, from a secure vantage point on the upper floors of the school, Misawa watched the proceedings with a variety of emotions. His first reaction was shock - he had not thought Manjoume would actually go through it, and had thought almost to the end that Manjoume was simply acting. His second feeling was a sense of horror that someone would actually choose to leave the Society, along with a vague puzzlement that Manjoume actually looked _happy_ about it. Misawa couldn't recall him ever looking so happy while he was in the Society. Smug, yes. Occasionally transported by spiritual fervor. But this kind of simple, uncomplicated happiness was something new. It confused and vaguely disturbed him. He forced the feelings out of his mind with an effort of will; he was supposed to rule himself by logic, not by whatever his mixed-up emotions were telling him. He had a procedure to follow, and right now, the procedure was to go find Saioh and tell him about it. He turned his back on the celebration unfolding in front of the school - several other Osiris students had heard about Manjoume's change of heart and had come to welcome him back to the fold - and hurried off to the Obelisk dorm.

The building seemed to be empty when he got there, but when he made his way up to Saioh's room, he could hear the sound of someone speaking. It sounded as if Saioh had a problem on his mind, and was trying to sort it out by talking to himself, first arguing one side, then the other. It went on for a while, but it was too far away and too distorted by the echoes in the barren room for any of it to be heard clearly. When it became clear that there was no chance of the argument stopping any time soon, Misawa gathered his courage and knocked loudly. The murmuring stopped.

"What is it you want, Misawa?" asked Saioh. His tone of voice was not overtly hostile or even annoyed, but it did warn that it might be soon if Misawa didn't have anything important to report.

"You may already know this, but I thought it best to inform you that Manjoume has betrayed us," said Misawa. "He's thrown away his uniform and his deck and gone back to Osiris Red with Juudai."

There was a long pause. Then Saioh's voice said, "I think you had better come in and tell me that again."

Misawa went in. He found Saioh, as usual, at his card table, but he was not doing anything with his cards.

"Come in and sit down," he said. "I wish to confirm your words. Should I take it that you witnessed the event, or did you only hear about it?"

"I saw it all first-hand, Master Saioh."

"Then you had better shuffle these cards," Saioh replied, pushing the deck towards him.

Misawa did as he was told - after all, if there was one thing any student of the Academy knew, it was how to shuffle cards. It gave him a slight feeling of satisfaction that at last he was being trusted to participate in one of these readings, even as his more scientific nature kept telling him that there was nothing to be learned from a Tarot card. When he felt they had been adequately shuffled, he passed them back To Saioh. Saioh selected three cards from the top of the deck and laid them out face-down in front of them. He turned the first one over, and a chill ran down Misawa's spine as he read its title.

"The Hanged Man," Saioh murmured. He frowned at it, as if he thought the card might be defective.

"That's the card Manjoume was talking about earlier," said Misawa. "He wanted to know what it means."

"Different things at different times," said Saioh vaguely. "It is the card that identifies him." He turned the second card over. "The Wheel of Fortune. A change has come over him. And the last card..." He turned it over. "The Fool. Juudai... Well, it looks as though you were not mistaken." His eyes blazed suddenly. "Curse him! How could I let this happen? Oh, I know how it happened, but still, his perfidy is astonishing. This does not bode well..."

"I'll do anything I can to help," said Misawa.

Saioh gave him a speculative look.

"I suppose you will," Saioh replied. "Very well. I appoint you my new second-in- command. Start spreading the word of what has become of Manjoume. If you can, make it appear to be Juudai's fault. Even if what has happened appears to be Manjoume's choice, it is Juudai who persuaded him. Fool though he is, he has been invested with a power of darkness that clouds the light of even the brightest minds. I will greatly reward anyone who is able to overcome him, particularly if they are also able to acquire a key he carries, and bring it to me as proof of their victory. The same goes for Ed Phoenix, who also has such a key. I believe he conspires against me."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Misawa agreed. "I'll start immediately. Is there anything else you need?"

"Nothing at the moment. I will call upon you later to speak to you when I have had some time to consider this development. Once I have decided on a course of action, I will brief you on your new duties."

"Thank you, Master Saioh! You won't be disappointed in me," Misawa assured him.

He left the meeting with his good spirits restored. Speaking with Saioh had cleared up his doubts. It felt to him now as if he had always known this would happen: Manjoume had always been too chummy with Juudai, even going so far as to room with him at one point. Obviously this was what had led to Manjoume's defection, which meant that the Society was as true and sound as it had always been, and Misawa had nothing to worry about. Moreover, he had gotten what he saw as a well-deserved promotion. Now, he decided, the best thing to do was carry out Saioh's orders as efficiently as possible, and then start looking for an opportunity to get that key away from Juudai, Ed, or both. If he could manage that, it would be just the thing to set the seal on his position.

As luck would have it, the first person he encountered after leaving Saioh's room was Asuka. She had apparently had good luck with her dueling, but unlike the male students, she didn't have a long sweeping jacket to pin them to. It appeared she was taking a handful of them to her room to be safely put away.

"I have news," Misawa told her.

"What kind of news?" she asked him skeptically.

"News about our friend Manjoume," he replied. "It's a terrible shock. I hate to be the one to tell you, but Master Saioh instructed me to start spreading the word..."

"Don't try to coddle me, Misawa," said Asuka. "Just spit it out."

"Very well. Manjoume has quit the Society."

There was a clatter. Asuka had dropped some of her medals.

"Here, let me help you with that," said Misawa, and began briskly gathering them up again.

"What do you mean, he quit the Society?" asked Asuka, aghast.

"I mean he quit. I saw it myself. Threw away all the cards Saioh gave him, took off his jacket and put on that tatty old black thing, and walked away with Juudai and the others. That would seem to be strong evidence that he has given up on us."

Asuka remained silent. Misawa shook his head sadly as he handed her medals back to her.

"I know, it's deplorable," he said. "I didn't see it coming, either. But we can't let his actions undermine the strength of our Society. We must stand firm."

"Yes," she said vaguely.

"Glad you agree. Anyway, Saioh lays the blame at Juudai's doorstep, and I think he's quite correct in doing so. He's offered a reward to anyone who can defeat him and bring back a key he's carrying, or anyone who can do the same to that sneaking Ed Phoenix. Anyway, I would love to stay and chat, but I still have a lot of other people to tell, and I want to finish and get back to the dueling. Take care."

He hurried off, leaving Asuka standing silently in the hallway, her gaze turned inward. Finally, she shook herself from her daze and walked slowly back to her room.

"I knew he didn't really love me," she said.

* * *

Manjoume returned to the Osiris dorm and somehow managed to wring a hero's welcome out of it. By rights, they should have been irritated with him for joining the Society and going about forcibly converting most of the school, but his natural charisma seemed to be sufficient to convince people that he truly wasn't at fault for the whole thing. He told compelling stories of Saioh's brainwashing techniques, until he had everyone in the Red dorm convinced that joining the Society was something like a fate worse than death, and that Manjoume was really a bit of a hero for being able to buck off Saioh's magic and return to where people were sane and trustworthy. The Reds were pleased with anything that gave them a reason to feel superior to their more privileged classmates, and as Manjoume was quick to see the advantages in letting them know how much better off they were than the Whites, they were willing enough to forgive him for leaving them. Besides, he was still leading the games by a healthy amount, and they were hoping that between him and Juudai, they would be able to claim that one of their own was the winner of the GX World Championship.

He was also welcomed by at least one other person. Since his declaration of independence from the Society, he had taken to spending most of his time with Juudai, Shou and Kenzan. Whether he was doing this because he wanted to, because he thought it advantageous to present a united front with Osiris Red's hero while he was living in their dorm, or whether he was just doing it to annoy Saioh was anyone's guess. Most likely it was a combination of the three factors, but at any rate, he seemed to be enjoying himself that morning, as he and the rest of the crew scoured the island for likely opponents and collecting a fair amount of medals for their collections. It was during this process that they encountered Fubuki. He caught sight of the group, realized who was with them, and his face lit up.

"Manjoume, you came back!" he exclaimed, running over and flinging his arms around him in a powerful bear hug and shedding tears of joy on Manjoume's jacket. Then his expression changed completely, and he clenched his fist and bopped him over the head. "What did you do to my sister?"

"I didn't do anything!" Manjoume squeaked. "She was going to kiss me but she changed her mind, so I didn't get the chance!"

"Not like _that_," said Fubuki, looking at Manjoume as if he were an idiot. "I don't mind _that_. What I wanna know is, what did you do to make her join that Society? The only time she ever speaks to me now is when she tries to talk me into joining it with her! She's completely changed." He sniffled sadly. "My poor little sister..."

"Don't blame me! It wasn't my fault," Manjoume protested. "It's that Saioh guy! _He_ made me do it! He's got this thing he does where he sort of looks at you and says stuff in that spooky tone of voice, and whatever he says to you, you go along with it! He could tell somebody to go walk up to the cliffs and jump in the ocean, and they'd do it without a second thought. That's why all those girls are following Misawa around lately," he continued, warming to his subject. "Saioh told them to think he's hot, and now they do!"

Fubuki looked hopeful at this. "You mean I haven't lost my touch?"

"Of course not! You'll always be the best," Manjoume hastened to assure him, with the fervency of one who truly believed it. In his mind, Fubuki was still the Wizard of Love. "Saioh's just got everyone thinking backwards. He had me thinking backwards, too." It was the closest he had come so far to being completely honest about the whole fiasco, but he found it easier to be honest around Fubuki than around anyone else.

"Yeah, that's what Juudai told me," said Fubuki, relaxing a bit. "I shoulda known you wouldn't do something like that on purpose!"

"No way," Manjoume assured him. "I wouldn't do something like that to you, and I'd _never_ do anything like that to Asuka." He sighed, and his gaze wandered off in the direction of the Obelisk dorm; from this distance, its gleaming white roof could just barely be seen above the trees. "Poor Asuka... she's still stuck in there..."

"We'll just have to get her out," said Juudai.

"How are we going to do that?" Kenzan asked, in the tone of one convinced that Juudai had all the answers.

"Dunno," Juudai admitted. "Hey, Manjoume, what made _you_ decide to leave?"

"Hmm," said Manjoume. "A lot of different stuff, I guess. Mostly I guess I just realized Saioh is full of hot air. He talks a good talk, but he's really just a big liar manipulating everybody who comes in range. But try telling that to the rest of the gang and see how far you get. They all think he's the most awesome thing ever. He told them so himself," he added with a grimace.

"Well, there's gotta be some way to get around it, or you wouldn't have realized it," Shou pointed out reasonably.

"I just happen to be exceptional, that's all," said Manjoume, drawing himself up proudly. Then he considered. "But so is Asuka, so it ought to be a cinch to wake her up!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Fubuki chimed in.

"So how do you plan on doing it?" asked Juudai.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence before Fubuki lit on the solution.

"We'll wake her up," he declared, "using the passionate feelings of our hearts!"

"Huh?" said Juudai.

"Yes!" Manjoume declared, posing dramatically. "The white light is no match for the flames of love!"

"Hey, that's a good one," said Fubuki.

Kenzan shook his head. "They spend too much time with each other."

Juudai just gave one of his careless laughs.

"You never know," he said. "Crazier things have happened. It just might work!"

Meanwhile, the subject of their conversation was standing thoughtfully beside the lighthouse. Asuka had often gone there in different times to mull over the problems life had thrown at her. At the moment, she could not quite remember what all of them were, now that the Light had made all the world's mundane little issues fade into obscurity, but something in her longed to be comforted, and that was the first thing that had come to her mind. Now she stared out at the rippling waves and tried to work through the emotions that were swirling through her.

Asuka had always prided herself on keeping her emotions under control. She had always considered it one of her greatest assets as a duelist, that she never lost her cool under pressure and always kept her mind working clearly. She could be just as at ease dueling a friend or an enemy as she could while battling a perfect stranger. Out of the dueling arena, she conducted herself the same way, maintaining her poise and self-control at all times. Romance in particular had been carefully avoided, and even while she had sometimes wondered if she might be missing out on something, she had always been able to fall back on a sort of pride that she had never let herself do something stupid because she couldn't keep her heart under control.

Now that pride was shattered. She had given it up when she had made up her mind to accept Manjoume as her destiny. For a moment, she had permitted herself to _feel_ without any restraints, and what it had felt was _good_. There had been something mysteriously pleasurable about being held in the arms of someone she genuinely liked and respected, and who she was certain loved her. For a fleeting instant, she thought she had seen what it was her brother and people like him saw in this whole romance game.

And then, before she'd even had a chance to enjoy it, it was gone. She hadn't even managed a first kiss before Manjoume had gone chasing off after Juudai and had decided not to come back. After she had heard that unbelievable news, she had gone to Manjoume's room with a vague notion of possibly talking to him about the matter, only to find a number of irritated Society members gathering up his things, which had been none-too-carefully carried downstairs and deposited on the lawn for Manjoume to come rescue if he cared to. She was even more appalled to discover that the hurry to empty out his things was not just because of a desire to get all traces of a traitor out of the building, but also because someone had declared Misawa to be Saioh's new second-in-command, and he was taking over the room closest to Saioh's to reflect his change of office. That didn't bother her greatly - she was not as ambitious as Manjoume or Misawa, and had no desire to rise above her station. What bothered her is that nobody in the Society seemed to care that one of their own had fallen from grace. Nobody seemed to care about him at all, or made any effort to rescue him. It made her wonder if anyone would miss her if something bad happened to her as well.

Not only that, but Manjoume seemed to be _happy_. Every time she had seen him from a distance, he had always appeared to be enjoying himself - dueling, bantering with Juudai and the others, basking in the applause of his dorm-mates as he continued to pile up medals. Nothing in his demeanor suggested he was anything but glad to be out of the Society. As far as she could tell, he didn't miss any of it, including her.

_I knew he didn't really care. I knew it was a mistake to trust him..._

She knew, but that didn't make her feel any better.

At one point in her life, her brother had promised her that if a boy ever broke her heart, she could come to him and he would do anything he could to make her feel better. Right now, she ached for his comforting presence. As erratic and sometimes annoying as he could be, Fubuki always had a way of making her smile when she was down. Right now, she needed him, and he wasn't there for her. No matter how many times she had begged and pleaded and even threatened him, trying to persuade him into joining the Society, he had firmly stood his ground and said that he knew in his heart that it was the wrong thing to do. Even the ultimate threat, that she would not speak to him until he joined, would not sway him. The look he had given her would have broken her resolve if her faith in the Light had not been so strong, but even so, it haunted her.

_Why does everyone abandon me?_

Even as she was wondering that, a shadow fell over her, and she looked up to see that someone had walked silently up to her without attracting her attention.

"Ryou!" she exclaimed.

"Hello, Asuka," said Ryou quietly. "I thought I'd find you here."

Asuka wasn't sure what to say. She regarded him for a moment, trying to reconcile her blurry memories of the past with what she was seeing before her now. It wasn't just his new outfit that was throwing her for a loop, though the unrelieved darkness of it offended her enlightened sensibilities. There was something different about the way he stood and the set of his features, something unsettling.

"You've changed," she said.

"So have you," he replied. "The question is, for the better? Or for worse? Frankly, I haven't heard anything good."

Asuka stiffened. "Then maybe you've been asking the wrong people."

"Possibly. That's why I came to ask you," Ryou replied. "So what's all this I hear about a Society of Light?"

"It's the best thing ever to happen to Duel Academia," said Asuaka, relaxing a little now that she was on firm ground. "Master Saioh taught us the true path to happiness and wisdom. He knows everything, and he's going to unite the whole world in the Light."

"Humph," said Ryou. "Right. You look happy."

Asuka's eyes flashed. "So things aren't perfect yet. We've encountered some setbacks, that's all."

"Some setbacks your all-knowing leader should have anticipated," Ryou scoffed.

"He doesn't have time to keep watch over everything," said Asuka defensively.

"Then he doesn't know everything, does he?" There was a jeering note in Ryou's voice that Asuka had never heard before, and it unnerved her. "Really, Asuka, you disappoint me. I never thought I'd live to see the day when you'd bow to anyone and call him 'master'."

"I do it out of respect," said Asuka.

"_Respect_." Ryou spat the word out like a curse. "Look where _respect_ got me. I'm through with respect! It's just asking to let other people who haven't got any walk all over you."

"That isn't what you used to believe," said Asuka.

"I used to be naive," Ryou replied. "I've been out in the world now, and learned a little about how it works. But if you want to bring things like that up, I could say that you used to be different, to. You didn't need someone to tell you what to think and how to act and even how to dress."

"You don't understand," said Asuka.

"No, I don't understand. I thought you were strong, Asuka. I thought you were one person I could count on not to let your destiny be decided by someone else. I can't believe how I overestimated you."

"It's not like that, Ryou..." she said. "I just found something that works."

"It works? What does it do?" Ryou countered. "Makes you feel special because you joined the club? Makes you feel more important than everyone else?"

"No," she said. "It's not..."

"It's not like that. Then what is it like?" asked Ryou.

"He's shown us the truth."

"About what?" he persisted. "That's all any of you have for me - empty rote phrases. When it comes down, you don't believe in anything. You're just having fun dressing up in costumes and pretending you're better than everyone else."

"Well, so are you!" she shouted back. "You think you're so special, now, just because you've joined the Pro Leagues! Calling yourself the Hell Kaiser and strutting around like you think you can't be beaten."

"I haven't been beaten yet," said Ryou. "Not even by Fubuki. He challenged me today, you know. Really pulled out all the stops. I was almost impressed, actually. But you see, Asuka, we're different. You've seen the Light, and that's all you've bothered to look for since then. I saw the light and I preferred the darkness, and even in the darkness I'm still searching and testing it. You've just taken the first thing someone's given to you and haven't questioned anything ever since."

"I don't need to question anything," she said defensively. "Saioh tells me anything I need to know."

Ryou smirked. "My point exactly. Do you plan to never think anything ever again but what he tells you to? You really are a disappointment."

"You're jealous because I've found the truth and you haven't," she accused.

"Me? Jealous? That's a laugh," Ryou replied. "I'll find my own truth, thanks. I may be right or I may be wrong, but at least it will be my choice and no one else's. I'm not going to sell out to anyone."

"I haven't sold out," Asuka insisted.

"You just keep telling yourself that," said Ryou. He turned and began walking away. "I can see it was a waste of time trying to talk to you. It's just making me sick. You've lost everything that made you worthwhile."

"But..." Asuka began, but she couldn't think what to say. She could only watch as her oldest friend and childhood protector walked away from her without another word. She stayed where she was until he was well out of sight before getting up and hurrying away. After the way Ryou had spoken to her, there was no way she was planning on letting him see her cry.

_Everyone is leaving me. I'm completely alone..._

Then she pulled herself together and reminded herself that this was not true. There was one person left who she could trust. She would go to him for advice, and he would make everything right. With purposeful steps, Asuka turned in the direction of the Obelisk dorm, with her mind made up to find Saioh.

She reached his room and hesitated for a moment outside the door, feeling slightly nervous. Usually she would not have dared to interrupt him unless he had specifically sent for her. It was possible that he wasn't even home right now, but had gone out dueling with the rest of the students.

_If he isn't home then it won't bother him if I knock,_ she told herself.

Asuka raised her hand, but before it struck the wood, she heard a voice say, "Did you need something, Asuka?"

"I... was wondering if I could talk to you about something," she said.

"Of course, my child. What am I here for, but to help in times of need?" answered Saioh soothingly. "Please, come in."

Warily, Asuka stepped inside. She found Saioh at his usual place, but instead of having his deck of Tarot cards before him, he had a small tea service set up. She couldn't help but notice that there were already two places set out.

"The cards have informed me that you are uneasy in your mind," said Saioh. "I thought perhaps you would find a warm drink to be soothing. Come, have a seat and tell me what is bothering you."

His comforting manner reassured her, so Asuka stepped forward and daintily took a place at the seat across from him. It occurred to her to wonder if he was going to offer to read her tea leaves when she was done. Saioh gracefully filled her cup, and offered her cream and sugar. She had rarely seen him behave so kindly - generally Saioh tended to be a bit aloof - and she found his deference somewhat surprising, but at the moment she was willing to accept it.

"Now, tell me what is on your mind," he said.

"I don't know where to begin," Asuka replied. "I just feel... even though I'm part of the Society, I feel as if I'm completely alone. The people who used to be my friends refuse to see the light. Even my brother has turned away from me. Manjoume has betrayed us, and Ryou... he's so far gone, I can't talk to him at all. It feels as if everyone I've ever cared about has left me."

"It is indeed a tragedy," said Saioh with a heavy sigh. "You see, Asuka, this is the pain that darkness brings. The darkness has infected their hearts, drawing them to isolation. When the Light has taken its rightful place, they will be returned to you. You must continue to have faith."

"I know, Saioh, and I truly do believe that the Light is the right way," she said. "It's just so hard having to go through it alone."

"But you are not alone. The Light is always with you, and I am here to help you," said Saioh. He reached across the table to place his hand on hers. "Would you like me to make it stop hurting? I can take the pain away."

"What?" Asuka exclaimed. "What do you mean?"

"Do not be alarmed. I will not harm you," he said soothingly. "I mean only to strengthen your will and clear your mind, if you will permit me."

"How are you going to do that?" she asked.

"By opening your mind and allowing the Light to flow through you more strongly," said Saioh. "It will clarify your doubts and relieve you of any lingering desire to return to the darkness. With the Light to strengthen you, you may even be able to draw your loved ones back to your side. That is what you want, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then let me help you."

Asuka nodded and raised her eyes trustingly to look into his. She was surprised to see that they were glowing faintly. Faintly? No, the light was very bright, and growing steadily brighter. There was something strangely fascinating about it...

Saioh watched, pleased, as Asuka's pupils contracted to pinpoints, and her expression went slack. He leaned back in his chair to admire his handiwork. Asuka was a strong young woman, and he had almost despaired of finding enough chinks in her mental armor to completely win her over.

"Asuka," he said, "do you feel better now?"

"Yes, Master Saioh."

"Very good. Now listen closely to me, Asuka. The pain you have been feeling is caused by the darkness. The darkness is keeping your loved ones away from you. The only way you can win them back is for the darkness to be defeated. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master Saioh."

"And do you know who is responsible for bringing the darkness among us, Asuka?"

She nodded slightly. "Yuki Juudai."

"That is correct. So what you need to do is find him and defeat him, and bring me the key he carries. If you do this, all your troubles will be over. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Master Saioh."

"Excellent. Then go make me proud, Asuka. Do what is best for all of us."

"Yes, Master Saioh." Asuka rose from her chair, bowed to him, and wandered out of the room with an expression that suggested that she didn't even see anything in it. Saioh settled back comfortably and poured himself a second cup of tea.

_Poor child... Your weakness for your companions has been your undoing._ In her eagerness to have the emptiness in her mind and heart filled, she had willingly allowed the Light to fill her until her original personality was completely obliterated. _I will not make the mistake I made with Manjoume again. Try as you might, Yuki Juudai, you cannot bring your friend back this time. There is nothing left to bring back!_

**To Be Continued**


	5. In the Dark

**In the Dark**

**By: SilvorMoon**

Misawa was stalking. Specifically, he was keeping a covert eye on Juudai and attempting to judge the situation, as far as dueling was concerned. He wanted to have that key won as soon as possible, but he also didn't want to take any unnecessary chances. He wanted to see exactly what Juudai had going for him now that he had acquired that peculiar new Neo-Spacian deck, and then decide how best to tweak his own deck for optimum performance against him.

The trouble was that Juudai had stopped dueling.

Almost everyone of importance had stopped dueling, actually. Misawa found that puzzling. There was a tournament going on - why had they all suddenly stopped what they were doing to sit around and chat? Yet, there they were: Juudai, Shou, Kenzan, Manjoume, and Fubuki, all sitting in a circle and talking as if talking were the most important thing they could be doing.

_What are they up to now?_

A spasm of paranoia made him wonder if this was some kind of plot. Juudai and Manjoume were recognized as being among the strongest duelists on the island, and if they were able to put their differences aside and work together, who knew what they could do? He brushed that thought away irritably, but he did creep closer to try to hear what they were chatting about.

"...under this old tree," Fubuki was saying dreamily. "That's where I taught her to play cards, you know? We'd sit there and duel each other from sunup to sunset on weekends."

"Aw, that's kind of sweet," said Shou.

"Yeah," said Fubuki. "That old tree was the best place to be in the summertime. There weren't a lot of really good shady places in our old neighborhood, so that's where we'd always go to stay cool. It was too far for most of the other neighborhood kids to want to walk in the summer heat, so we usually had it all to ourselves. It was our special place, you know?"

Manjoume heaved a sigh. "I wish I had a special place with Asuka."

"You'll get one!" Fubuki assured him.

"Gotta get her out of the Society, first," Kenzan pointed out.

"Well, that's what we're working on, isn't it?" said Juudai. "We're brainstorming ideas."

"Yeah, but we ain't coming up with any," Kenzan retorted.

"We will," said Manjoume firmly. "Somehow we'll think of a way to do it and then we'll do it! We can't leave Asuka in Saioh's clutches forever."

_So that's their game!_ Misawa thought. He'd known it would be a good idea to listen in on this conversation. He silently debated a moment: was it better to challenge Juudai now, and hope that beating Juudai would put an end to his plans, or would it be better to take this matter directly to Saioh and let him decide what the best course of action was?

_Best to tell Saioh,_ he decided. He would hate to find out that Saioh had already known about this and was already preparing an action. Besides, while removing Manjoume from the picture had been beneficial to Misawa, there was nothing to be gained from losing Asuka, so it was probably better to make keeping her safely in the Society the top priority.

He was halfway back to Society headquarters when he saw Asuka coming towards him.

"Asuka! Perfect timing," he called out to her. "I just heard Juudai and the others talking, and they were planning to... Asuka, are you all right? Asuka?"

Asuka didn't react to a word he said. She walked straight past him as if he wasn't there and continued down the path without so much as a backwards glance.

"That was odd," said Misawa. He felt vaguely disturbed; there had been something about her expression that didn't seem natural. "Was she sleepwalking?"

When he arrived at his destination, it was to the accompaniment of music. That made him feel somewhat better; Saioh usually only played the piano when he was feeling relaxed, and he had not touched that instrument for several days now.

"Master Saioh?" he called, walking hesitantly to his leader's side.

"Hello, Misawa. Why aren't you out dueling?" asked Saioh pleasantly.

"I was, but I happened to overhear something interesting and wanted your opinion on it," Misawa replied. "It seems Juudai and his companions are plotting to remove Asuka from the Society."

Saioh surprised him by laughing. "Let them! It won't do them any good. In fact, I would very much enjoy watching them try. Asuka won't fall for their tricks the way Manjoume did."

"Are you... quite certain?" Misawa replied. "I saw Asuka just a moment ago, and she seemed... distracted. Not quite all there."

"In a sense, she is not," said Saioh placidly. "Asuka is a very lucky girl. She has achieved a breakthrough in her journey to true enlightenment. If she seems to be 'not quite all there' it is because she is not. Her mind has been unified with the Light, and as a result she is somewhat out of touch with the material world."

Misawa frowned a little. "Are you sure that's healthy?"

"Of course it's healthy," Saioh said. "It is the best thing that could happen to her. It will give her great strength against our enemies. Manjoume was seduced into returning to the darkness because his heart was still impure - he still housed selfish thoughts that made him secretly desire the shadows. Asuka was willing to surrender herself completely to the Light, and so all dark thoughts have been cleansed from her. She will be impervious to anything Juudai and his friends may do in their misguided attempts to corrupt her."

"I see," Misawa murmured.

"I appreciate you bringing the news," Saioh continued, "but there is truly nothing to worry about. You may return to your dueling."

Misawa nodded and murmured something appropriately servile before going back the way he had come. He did not, however, go back to his dueling. He had some new worries on his mind.

_So that's what unity with the Light looks like, is it?_

He had to admit that it wasn't as glamorous as he had hoped it would be. Being in communion with the ultimate source of peace and unity sounded good, but the reality appeared to be that Asuka had been replaced by a robot. Where had all her personality gone? Was that all he had to hope for if he continued down this path? Even if he gave the whole thing the benefit of the doubt and assumed that Asuka was actually happier this way... well, Misawa was a bit attached to himself, and he didn't want to give up his personality for anyone, even Saioh.

_I joined the Society to be recognized. I wanted to be recognized for who I am, but that isn't going to happen if that's where all this is leading._

He had joined the Society with dreams of shining like a star against the darkness. That was what he thought the "unity with the Light" he was always hearing about would be like. Asuka's new state reminded him more of a sheet of paper: white, flat, and blank. If that was the destiny of all who joined the Society...

_I can't live like that._

But what was he supposed to do? The Society had given him all the good things he had wanted - if he walked away now, he would lose it all, and he might never get it back. He'd go back to being an outcast. He couldn't even count on Juudai welcoming him back after the way he had behaved. Manjoume and Asuka had been pressured into the Society - admittedly for their own good, he reminded himself, but Juudai wouldn't see it that way - but he had gone over of his own volition. His former friends would see that as a betrayal, and he wasn't certain they would forgive him for it or even trust that he was not just trying to trick them. And yet, if he stayed, what were the odds that he would end up like Asuka?

_I'm trapped both ways - either I'm doomed to a life of obscurity, or I'm doomed to a life of conformity. Not a pretty picture either way. My best option might just be to stay with the Society and enjoy what I've got for as long as I can..._

"No, no, no!" Misawa shouted, shaking himself and clutching at his head. "What am I thinking? Think, Misawa - you're not being logical. You can't draw these conclusions based only on walking past Asuka without even talking to her. You are making more out of this situation than you need to, so just calm down."

He took a few deep breaths, trying to steady himself. There was no point in worrying himself about something he didn't even know for certain had actually happened. He was probably just making a mountain out of a molehill. He banished all his worries from his mind with an effort of will and forced himself to return to the dueling as if nothing had happened.

But though his worries could be banished from his conscious thoughts, they could not be banished entirely. They settled somewhere near the pit of his stomach and thoroughly spoiled his appetite for the rest of the day.

* * *

Meanwhile, the discussions on how to rescue Asuka were continuing unabated.

"Come on, guys, think," Juudai encouraged. "There has to be something that would get her attention."

"Like an interpretive dance?" asked Fubuki.

"I don't think that would do it," Shou replied. "Hey, Manjoume, how did you break the spell, or whatever it was?"

"I dunno," said Manjoume thoughtfully. "I think it really started when Juudai showed up and started talking about the Ojamas. It was like, after I talked to him, suddenly I could think about things I hadn't thought about before. And then that night, there was a power outage..."

"Waitaminute, waitaminute," said Kenzan. "How did we get from cards to power failures?"

"It's important," Manjoume told him. "Juudai got me thinking of the questions, but it wasn't until the lights went out that I started thinking of answers. You get it? Saioh's power comes from the Light, so obviously his magic is going to be weaker in the dark."

"You mean all we've gotta do is shove her in a closet or something?" asked Juudai.

"No, there's more to it than that," said Manjoume. "Look, it's hard to explain, okay? It wouldn't have done anything if I hadn't had something to think about. Anyway, people in the Society aren't supposed to go anywhere _near_ the dark. They're not allowed to out at night, and they have to have lights going in their rooms all the time. It's not like you can challenge her to a duel at midnight or something."

"There's still gotta be a way," Juudai insisted. "It's there, we're just not seeing it."

"No," said a voice. "You aren't."

Everyone looked up to see that Asuka had walked up quietly behind them. At least, it seemed to be Asuka - it looked like her, and was wearing what she usually wore, but there was something curiously blank and impassive about her expression, and her voice was emotionless. Her pupils had contracted to the point where they seemed to have vanished entirely, and she stared straight in front of her instead of looking at the boys.

"Asuka?" asked Fubuki. "Asuka, what's wrong with you?"

"There is nothing wrong," she said. "Yuki Juudai, I have a message for you from Master Saioh."

Juudai blinked at her. "Since when do you call me by my family name?"

"I am under orders to duel you," said Asuka, as if he hadn't spoken. "Either join the Society voluntarily and return the key you are carrying, or force will be used to make you comply."

"Um," said Juudai. "Geez, Asuka, you're acting weird today. You sure you haven't been dueling too hard?"

"Do you accept the challenge or not?" she asked.

"Well, I guess..."

"He accepts," Manjoume cut in, "on the condition that he gets to pick the location."

"I do?" asked Juudai. "Oh yeah, I do! Where do I choose?"

"Behind the Osiris dorm, near the cliffs," Manjoume told him.

"Okay," said Juudai. "What he said."

"Very well," said Asuka. "Behind the Osiris dorm, then. I will meet you tomorrow at noon."

She stalked off without another word. Juudai scratched his head.

"I gotta ask," he said. "Why has it always gotta be at noon? Doesn't the Society eat lunch?"

Manjoume rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? It's at noon because that's when the sun's light is strongest, and when the shadows are the smallest. Of course all the important duels are at noon."

"I'd rather eat lunch," said Juudai.

"So what's that key she was talking about?" Shou asked.

"I'm not sure," Juudai admitted. "I think she's gotta mean this doohickey."

He reached under his shirt and pulled out what appeared to be a slim metal wand hanging from a loop of fine chain.

"It doesn't look much like a key to me," said Kenzan. "Where'd you get it?"

"I dunno that either," said Juudai. "I found it when I woke up the other day. You aren't gonna believe this, but I had this weird dream that _Saioh_ gave it to me! It doesn't seem to be good for much, though, so I just hung on to it."

Manjoume looked interested. "When was this?"

"The same night I broke your window."

"How about that," Manjoume murmured. "Yeah, you'd better hang on to that thing. I don't know what it's a key to, either, but Saioh wants it pretty bad."

"That's a good reason to keep it," Juudai agreed. He tucked it back under his shirt. "So, tell me again why I have to duel Asuka out behind the Osiris dorm? I mean, not that I mind, but it seems kind of random."

"Because Fubuki gave me an idea," Manjoume replied.

"Really?" said Fubuki. "Cool!"

Manjoume ignored him. "Listen. I figured out how we might be able to get through to her. I don't know if it will work, but..."

Everyone gathered around to hear Manjoume's plan.

"Well," said Juudai, "it's not much of a plan, but it's the best we've got, so I say we go for it. It can't hurt anything, anyway."

"It _will_ work," said Fubuki. "I know Asuka's heart. She'll respond to us."

"I sure hope so," said Juudai. He got to his feet. "Anyway, I think we've done all we can do for now. Better get back to the dueling."

"Not me!" said Fubuki. His mood seemed to have been lifted now that they had a plan of action. "I lost all my medals already. I'm gonna hit the surf!"

"Dude, do whatever makes you happy," said Kenzan. "Me, I'm getting back where the action is."

"Yeah, me too," said Shou resignedly. "I haven't dueled _anyone_ yet today. I'm gonna be disqualified if I don't do something soon!"

The boys scattered, leaving only Juudai and Manjoume. Juudai prepared to head off as well, but Manjoume caught him by the collar and dragged him back.

"I'm not done with you," he said.

Juudai tried to loosen Manjoume's grip on him. "What more do you want outta me?"

"I want a promise," said Manjoume. He let Juudai go and turned away from him, staring off into the distance. "Look. I know you're worried about Asuka because she's your friend. That's great. But she's more than that to me."

"Yeah, I know," Juudai assured him.

"Right," Manjoume agreed. "But... well, you're the hero. _You're_ the one who got chosen by the space alien things to be champion of darkness or whatever. You're the one who's supposed to be able to be able to stop Saioh's plans and stuff. So... basically what I'm saying is that no matter how much I love Asuka, you're the one who's gotta save her, so you had better do a _damned_ good job of it or I'll wring your neck. Got it?"

There was a moment of silence. Manjoume felt someone behind him lay a hand on his shoulder.

"I've got it," said Juudai quietly. "Don't worry, Manjoume. I'll do whatever it takes to get her back to normal. You can count on me."

"Yeah, well," said Manjoume, "you can take your hand off me now."

He slouched off without a backward look. Juudai watched him go, a look of determination suffusing his face. Then he, too, turned and walked away in the opposite direction.

* * *

It turned out to be a good day: the sun was shining intensely, without so much as a shred of cloud to block its rays. Juudai and his friends had been hoping for clear weather, and they weren't disappointed. By the time noon drew near, there was scarcely a shadow to be seen on campus. It was perfect weather for luring a member of the Society of Light into a trap. Juudai loitered around the front of the dorm, keeping a watch on the path. He wiped his brow with his sleeve; that intense sunlight was making it uncomfortably hot out. Maybe, he thought, he should have brought a bottle of water to sip on while he waited.

_I wish I was with the others right now! At least they're staying cool..._

But staying cool was not in the cards for him at the moment; he had chosen his role in this scheme and he would go through with it. Thankfully, it was nearly noon, and Asuka would be here shortly.

Sure enough, just as the school's clock was tolling noon, Asuka came into view on the road ahead. Juudai felt rather smug to see that she, too, appeared to be feeling the effects of the sun's heat. Her expression was still fixed in that same impassive stare, but she was looking a bit flushed, and strands of hair clung to her face in sweaty straggles.

"Are you prepared to duel?" she asked him.

"Sure," said Juudai, "but remember, you promised to duel me wherever I wanted, and that's _behind_ the dorm. There's a hill back there that'll be perfect."

A hint of exasperation crept into Asuka's blank features. "It makes no difference where we duel, so long as we duel. You're stalling for time."

"Nope! No way," said Juudai. "I just, uh... like the scenery, that's all. You know, a nice view from the cliffs, fresh ocean breeze, that sort of thing. Like you said, it doesn't matter where we duel, right? So why not there?"

She sighed. "Fine. Lead where you will."

"This way!" said Juudai. He bounced away, beckoning for her to follow, and she trailed after him at a more dignified pace.

There was a place behind the Osiris dorm where Juudai spent a fair portion of his free time, a place where the ground sloped upwards enough to give an excellent view of not only the ocean but a fair-sized chunk of campus as well. It was the best view to be had anywhere on that end of the island. It also had a single tree on it. Juudai had spent many happy hours relaxing in its shade. Right now, it was occupied by Manjoume and Fubuki, who had come to see how the duel would turn out. They had been passing the time by playing a few casual rounds of cards - not with their Disks, but simply on a mat on the ground. When Asuka saw it, she stopped walking and stared.

"No," she said.

"What?" Juudai asked.

"You're going to make me go under that tree, aren't you?"

"Hey, you promised!" said Juudai. "You can't get out of it now!"

She turned on him with her eyes blazing. "You're trying to trick me! You just want to lure me out of the Light!"

"C'mon, Asuka, it's just a tree," said Juudai soothingly. "It's not like I want you to duel in the dark. It's just hot out and I want to be where there's some shade, okay? I mean, look at you! You look like you're about to melt."

"I'm fine," she said shortly. "You can stand under the tree if you want to, but I'm staying in the light where I belong."

"Geez. Forget Saioh's brainwashing; I think the heat has cooked your brain," said Juudai. He ambled over to the tree, and Asuka followed him warily. Manjoume and Fubuki looked up from their game to watch.

"All right," said Asuka. "Let's duel!"

"Right!" said Juudai, striking a pose. Then he laughed and slapped his forehead. "Oops! Forgot my Duel Disk."

"You forgot," Asuka repeated. "How could you forget?"

"I dunno. I just forgot," said Juudai innocently. "No problem! It's inside. I'll just run in and get it. Back in a sec!"

Juudai scooted off, leaving Asuka standing and staring in confusion. This was not how she had thought this encounter would go. Insofar as she had imagined anything about the future, she had pictured a dramatic duel, concluding with a swift, sharp victory, and possibly a bit of begging for mercy somewhere in between. That was how it was supposed to work with enemies of the Light, and she found herself feeling somewhat cheated.

She turned her attention to the two who remained. There was something about the sight of that tree that reminded of her of something she couldn't remember, and the strain of simultaneously remembering and not remembering something made her feel as if she were about to get a headache. The sun beat down on her shoulders, and she fanned herself, trying to find some relief from the heat.

"Hey, Asuka," Fubuki called. "You can come sit with us, if you want. It's cooler under here."

"No," she said. "I know what you're trying to do and it won't work."

"I'm not trying to do anything," said Fubuki. "Come on. It won't hurt you."

"Yeah," Manjoume said. That was the plan, after all - to attempt to coax Asuka into the shade where the effects of the light would be weaker. "It'll take Juudai half-an-hour to remember where he left his Duel Disk anyway, so you might as well come over here before you get sunburned. You've got a lot of faith in the light if you're scared it can't protect you from a little thing like a shade tree."

Asuka scowled at him, but she couldn't find words to argue. If she was going to claim the all-powerfulness of the Light, she could hardly claim to be worried about one little shadow. Very slowly, she edged her way into it, moving as though she were stepping into cold water and looking nearly as uncomfortable. When it was done, though, she breathed a sigh of relief.

_That wasn't so bad. It's actually a relief to be out of that heat,_ she thought. She felt lighter without the sun beating down on her. It crossed her mind to wonder why Saioh was so determined that his followers should stay out of the shade, but the thought didn't stay there. Of course Saioh was the source of all truth, so if he said it was important, he must have a reason. She wasn't going to let these people sway her. She was, however, glad to be where it was cooler.

"Sit," Fubuki told her, scooting over to make room for her.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'll get stains on my clothes."

"You won't get stains on your clothes," said Manjoume. He stood up and shed his jacket, spreading it on the ground for her. "There. Now there's no reason why you shouldn't sit down."

Asuka looked with distaste at the black jacket. It looked very dark in the deep shade of the tree, and for a moment she felt she was looking down a bottomless chasm, and that if she stepped any closer to it, she might fall in, and she recoiled from it.

"I can't," she said.

Manjoume gave her a quizzical look. "Do you mean you don't want to, or do you mean you _can't_?"

"I can't," she said sullenly, turning away.

"Sure you can," Fubuki assured her. "Just sit down. Anybody could do it."

Asuka hesitated, struggling against the white fog that enveloped her mind. She knew she ought to be able to do it; it was just a piece of cloth dyed black, nothing that ought to prevent anyone from doing anything, but something about it repelled her.

_This is ridiculous,_ said a small voice in the back of her mind. _I ought to be able to sit anywhere I want. What's wrong with me? I can't think..._

"Stop it," she said firmly. "You're trying to turn me away from the Light and it won't work! I have no interest in sitting and socializing with you two. I'm here to duel and that's it."

"Well, why don't you duel with us?" asked Fubuki. "You're always trying to get me to join that Society, aren't you?"

"Yeah," said Manjoume coaxingly. "I'll bet Saioh would be thrilled if you could get both of us into the Society."

"I don't want you to come back," Asuka snapped at him. "I don't want either of you in the Society." Something in her mind was aghast at her for saying this - she was supposed to put the good of the Society before anything else - but the feeling was too strong to be denied.

The boys stared, surprised by her vehemence.

"Why not?" Manjoume asked her at last.

"Because you betrayed me," she said coldly. "Both of you!" Memories boiled up, hot and sullen. "I thought I could trust you two, and you let me down. You left me all alone..."

"No I didn't. You left me," Fubuki pointed out.

"You should have come with me," she said. "If you cared about me, why wouldn't you follow me? And why did you leave me?" she asked Manjoume.

"I didn't leave you," Manjoume told her. "I left the Society. It's different."

"It's the same," she insisted. "I have devoted myself completely to the Light. If you can't accept that, then you can't accept me."

"That's not true," said Fubuki. "That Society changed you. This isn't who you really are."

"He's right," Manjoume insisted. "You're not devoted, you're brainwashed! And the longer you stick with him, it's just going to get worse! Do you realize what Saioh's trying to do?"

"He's going to bring peace to the world," said Asuka promptly.

"Yeah, but how?" answered Manjoume. "I'll tell you how: he's going to fix it so there's nothing _but_ light. No more people, no more world. Just light. Kinda hard for it to be anything but peaceful, huh?"

Asuka gave him a blank look. "That... can't be true..."

"Oh, yeah? Ever notice how he never talks about what we're going to do once he wins? All his talk is about getting there. He never tells you what's going to come next," said Manjoume. "Face it - he's just using you until he gets what he wants, and then he's going to get rid of you."

"No!" said Asuka. "Saioh is the only one left who cares about me..."

"We care about you!" said Fubuki. "Come on, Asuka, how could you forget? There's probably nobody in the world who loves you as much as we do!"

"That's right," Manjoume said. "We'd do anything for you, Asuka - and that includes getting you out of that Society and away from Saioh, and back with us where you belong!"

"But..." Asuka stammered. Her head was pounding; a powerful white light seemed to be pulsing behind her eyes, blurring her vision. She sank to her knees, clutching at her head as the world seemed to tilt around her. The air was so hot - she couldn't breathe...

_The only person I matter to is Saioh. I can't leave the Society, no matter what it costs me..._

_No. That's not true. He doesn't care. He's using me like he uses everyone around him..._

_He's going to bring peace to the world._

_He's going to destroy the world._

_Everyone I loved abandoned me._

_I abandoned everyone I loved._

_I have to stay..._

_I have to get out!_

"Argh, make it stop!" she cried out.

Immediately, Manjoume and Fubuki were beside her, holding her up. They moved her into the deepest part of the shade and wrapped her in Manjoume's black jacket. She lay there shivering, her eyes moving wildly beneath her eyelids. She felt their hands close around hers.

"It's okay, Asuka," said Fubuki soothingly. "We're here with you."

"Just hang in there," Manjoume told her. "You're going to be okay."

Asuka's twitching gradually subsided, until at last she became completely still. There was a moment of silence, and then she took a long breath and let her eyes flutter open.

"Where am I?" she murmured. She sat up straighter and looked around. "How did I get out here?"

"Are you all right?" asked Fubuki worriedly. "You looked like you were having some sort of fit."

"Was I?" she asked. "The last thing I remember, I was talking to Saioh, and... I don't know! Everything went blank."

"You've been in some kind of trance," said Manjoume. "You came out here acting like a robot and talking about dueling Juudai."

Asuka looked at Fubuki. "Is that true?"

Fubuki nodded. "You've been acting that way since yesterday."

"_Yesterday?_" she repeated. "You mean I lost a whole day and can't even remember it? How is that possible?"

"Saioh," Manjoume told her. "Same as he did to those girls he's got chasing after Misawa, only worse. You were pretty far gone."

"Oh, no..." said Asuka. She shook her head, trying to clear it. "But it must be true. I really can't remember anything. But how did I wake up?"

"We lured you into the shade, see?" said Fubuki, gesturing around. "It was all Manjoume's idea. He figured if we could get you out under the tree, you'd be out of the light and maybe Saioh's magic or whatever it is wouldn't reach you, and maybe you'd remember all the good times we used to spend under that old tree back home... and something must have worked, because here you are!"

"I guess so," said Asuka. She bowed her head, looking ashamed. "Fubuki, I'm really sorry. You told me so many times that the Society was all wrong, and I didn't listen to you."

"It's okay," Fubuki assured her. "I mean, hey, I did that whole thing with the Seven Stars, so I kinda know how it feels. These things happen!"

She managed a laugh. "Not to most people... but I guess our family isn't that normal."

"Nope! We're extraordinary!" Fubuki declared.

"What's important is that you're back," said Manjoume. "I mean, you are back, aren't you? For real? You're going to leave the Society, right?"

"You mean, am I going to let Saioh decide my life for me? Absolutely not," she declared. "I'm my own person, and I'll make my own decisions. I don't need anyone telling me what to do. What I _do_ need is to be with the people who care about me."

"Now you're talking!" said Fubuki.

Asuka sat up a bit straighter, and the jacket fell away. She looked at it thoughtfully before turning to look at Manjoume.

"So," she said, "it was your plan that woke me up again?"

"Well, yeah, I guess it kind of was," he admitted.

"I should thank you, then," she replied. "I never should have doubted you. You really do have my best interests at heart, and I'm sorry I thought otherwise. You may be crazy, but you're still a sweet guy deep down, and I think you deserve this," she finished, and cupped her hands around his face and kissed him.

When she released him, he toppled over like a puppet with its strings cut, and probably would have banged his head on a root if Fubuki hadn't caught him and propped him safely against the tree trunk.

"Careful!" said Fubuki. "You don't wanna break him."

"I didn't realize he was so sensitive," Asuka replied. She looked rather pleased with herself. "If it's that easy to make him happy, I might be able to put up with him, after all."

Fubuki waved his hand in front of Manjoume a few times and got no reaction; Manjoume was simply staring off into nowhere with a goofy smile on his face.

"I don't think he's conscious," said Fubuki "Let's leave him here to enjoy his moment, huh?"

"Good idea," Asuka agreed. She tucked his jacket around him and got up to go to the dorm. "I think my old uniform should be in my room, still. I'm ready to get rid of this white outfit!"

They walked off and left Manjoume sitting dazedly under the tree. A few minutes after they had gone, Juudai came bounding out of the dorm.

"Well, I found my Duel Disk!" he announced cheerfully. "But it looks like you don't need me anymore. How about that? Guess I'll just go back inside."

He turned around and began walking off. He had nearly made it back to the dorm before Manjoume called to him.

"Hey," he said. "Come back here a minute."

"What for?" asked Juudai innocently.

"Because I said so! Now come on already."

Juudai turned around and walked back to the tree.

"What's up?" he asked.

Manjoume gave him a glare. "You didn't forget anything, did you?"

"You figured it out, huh?"

"You couldn't have been any more obvious," said Manjoume. "You idiot! What did you do that for? You could have ruined everything! You're the hero, remember? You're the one who's supposed to win. What if we had done something wrong, huh? Did you stop and think of that? We could have lost her because you were goofing around!"

"I wasn't goofing around," said Juudai quietly. "Saioh says I have the power to choose. This is what I chose to happen. It seemed like the right thing to do."

"Oh."

"I woulda come back out if you guys had needed me," said Juudai, "but I think it worked out better this way."

"I guess so."

"Anyway, I'm gonna go get some lunch now - I'm starving!" said Juudai. "Wanna come with me?"

"Nah, I'm good here."

"Okay, then. See you around!"

He walked away again, making a beeline for the cafeteria. Manjoume watched him go.

"Juudai!" he called. "Hey, um..."

Juudai didn't stop or turn around; he appeared not to have heard a thing, though he wasn't all that far away. Manjoume stopped trying to get his attention. He was starting to understand Juudai better. Giving up the glory so Manjoume could have his chance to save Asuka himself was one thing, but it took someone who truly understood him to walk away and relieve him of the obligation of thanking him.

* * *

There was an air of tension in the Obelisk dorm. It hadn't taken long for word of Asuka's betrayal to get around, and now everyone was walking on eggshells, whispering to each other about who would be next. Saioh was doing nothing to quell the talk. He was too wrapped up in his own annoyance to pay much attention to what else was going on around him. His anger was actually palpable; it upset small objects when he walked past them and made people's skin prickle, as if he were giving off an electric charge. It wasn't long before people got the message and began giving him a wide berth when he walked by. So far, there hadn't been any casualties, but at least two windows had mysteriously cracked after he stood next to them for too long.

This was turning out to be more than a little bit stressful for Misawa, who found himself fielding the questions that people were too afraid to ask Saioh. He did his best to reassure everyone that the situation was under control and that both Manjoume and Asuka would be thoroughly punished for their desertion, and that Juudai and his friends would be even more thoroughly punished for luring them away. He wasn't sure how good a job he was doing, but eventually the crowd settled down enough to let him finish his evening meal and slip away to his room to think.

_This is all getting to be more complicated than I thought it would be._

He stretched out on his bed in his new room - which, he was forced to admit, was exactly like his previous one except for its proximity to Saioh - and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. The ceiling didn't appear to have any answers for him, however, and he found himself wishing he had a marker or something that he could write on it with. He had a vague memory that he had once taken to writing on the walls when he had a problem in his mind, but Saioh had cured him of that habit. Anyway, this was too complicated for algebra to solve. It was a matter of emotion and gut instinct, things Misawa wasn't always successful in understanding.

There was a knock at his door, and he ignored it. He knew who it was bound to be - one or more of his female admirers, come to comfort him or perhaps to seek comfort - but he found that he didn't want to see them. He was tired of them. They always had the same things to say and did the same things, over and over, like a bunch of pretty wind-up dolls. Looking back, he realized he wasn't even sure he knew all their names, or that he could have applied the names he knew to the right girls. They felt as interchangeable as the rooms he'd been living in.

_I don't understand. I have everything I wanted. Why don't I enjoy it anymore? It all seems so meaningless..._

He had a brief flash, a memory of earlier in the day. He had gone to ascertain that the wild rumors about Asuka's treason were true, and had found her on the beach with Juudai, Manjoume, Fubuki, Shou, and Kenzan. They had apparently decided that her return was something worth celebrating, and had given up on their dueling for the day to go swimming instead. Fubuki had been giving Manjoume surfing lessons while the others heaped up sand for a sand castle. There had been a lot of splashing and laughing and friendly insults. They looked like they were having fun.

_If the Light holds all the answers, then why are they happy but I'm not? I feel like I'm missing something..._

He probed his mind, searching for an answer, a clue, anything, but the inside of his head felt as blank and empty as the white walls of his room.

_I haven't solved an equation in weeks. I haven't designed a single new deck since Saioh gave me this new one. I haven't done any independent research. My books are gathering dust. I don't even know if my computer is plugged in or not. What have I been doing all this time?_

He looked back over the past few days and was forced to admit that he really hadn't been doing much of anything. When he wasn't in class or dueling, he had spent most of his time running minor errands for Saioh or enjoying the adulation of his peers. He had to admit that while it had been fun at the time, he didn't really have a lot to show for it.

_No wonder Asuka looked so... so empty. And it's happening to me, too. I was afraid it was going to happen to me, but it's already happened. I'm being wiped out little by little..._

He sat up and looked around his neat, clean white room. Suddenly he sprang from his bed and went rummaging through a drawer until he fished out a fat black marker. With a strangled cry, he rushed at the walls, overcome with a desire to cover them over with black marks - numbers, equations, symbols, all the sane and sensible things he had thrown out in exchange for the euphoria of the white light. He tried to think of them now, but nothing would come. The walls stayed blank and so did his mind. With a snarl, he threw the marker across the room and watched it bounce off the far wall to land on the carpet, miraculously - or perhaps diabolically - managing not to leave a mark on anything. He stormed out of the room.

But he did not go far. It only took three steps to reach Saioh's door, and he stopped there and pounded on it as if he intended to break the door down.

"I want to talk to you and I want to talk to you now!" he demanded.

There was a sound of a chair being pushed back, and then Saioh opened the door.

"Power is going to your head, Misawa Daichi," he said. "You are forgetting who gives the orders here."

"I wasn't giving orders," said Misawa sulkily. "I just told you what I wanted."

"You want a great deal, Misawa," Saioh replied. "Perhaps more than you are justified in wanting. Well, come inside anyway and tell me what you want _this_ time."

"It's not so much that I _want_ something," said Misawa, sounding a bit more subdued now that he was actually in Saioh's presence. It was hard to maintain a rebellious mindset when Saioh was anywhere nearby; it produced the same sort of effect as when the teacher called on him in class and he suddenly realized he'd forgotten what the question was.

"Of course you want something. You always want something," said Saioh. "You've been wanting things since the day you got here. And I've given them all to you, haven't I? Everything I promised you I have given you."

"Yes, you have, and I'm very grateful," said Misawa, "but I'm... beginning to have some second thoughts."

Saioh gave him a dangerous look. "Second thoughts? What kind of second thoughts?"

"I just... I'm starting to wonder if this is still what I want."

"You are dissatisfied?"

"Sort of," he admitted. "I feel like I'm missing something - like my personality is changing."

"Of course your personality is changing. That is an effect of drawing nearer to the Light: those parts of your personality that are dark and damaging begin to fall away, and the better parts of you begin to take dominance. There is nothing wrong with that. You are becoming a new person - a better one."

"But I don't feel like myself anymore."

"That is not a problem," said Saioh firmly. "No one liked the old you."

Misawa crossed his arms. "_I_ liked the old me."

"Well, you're in the minority, aren't you?" Saioh sneered. Misawa was taken aback; he had never heard Saioh speak like this to anyone. "Listen to me, Misawa. If you are unhappy with your current situation, there is nothing stopping you from changing it. Very shortly the Society will take a dramatic step forward, and you will have more scope for your talents. This dissatisfaction you feel is nothing more than the ennui of having nothing more to work towards. You will feel better once you have a job to do that requires all your skill. Just be patient a few more days. Once those two keys are returned to me, there will be no end to what the Society can do."

Misawa gave him a slightly baffled look. "You think you can control the world in a matter of a few days?"

"The world is nothing," said Saioh. "I am speaking of the universe."

Misawa's mind balked. Ruling the world, he could vaguely comprehend - the world had a definite size and shape, and it could be known with a reasonable degree of certainty how big it was and how many people were in it. It was conceivable that someone intelligent enough and powerful enough might be able to gain mastery over it. The universe, however, was beyond the scope of his imagination.

"That's impossible," he said flatly. "No one can rule the universe. It would take a ray of light billions upon billions of years to go from one side of the universe to the other - no matter how much power you had, you'd be dead before word of your achievement got out of our galaxy."

"So you think," said Saioh. "Allow me to relieve you of your ignorance. This is not a just an earthly matter, Misawa. We are not working towards rulership of Academy Island, or Japan, or even the world. This place is only the chosen playing field for something much larger. The forces of Light and Darkness that permeate the universe have been in conflict since the beginning of time, and that conflict is about to be settled here. I have been chosen as the representative of Light; your friend Juudai has been selected as the champion of Darkness. Whichever one of us wins, the other side will be extinguished forever. Once my enemy is vanquished, the Light will permeate the universe, and I will be the master of the Light."

"You're insane," said Misawa, backing away. "You're stark-raving mad. I don't know why I didn't notice it before."

"Oh, I'm insane, am I?" Saioh replied. "And now you think you're going to turn your back on me and walk away, are you?"

"Yes," said Misawa.

"Well, now, isn't that charming," Saioh murmured. "Where do you think you're going to go? No one else wants you."

"Then I'll go it alone."

"So you say," said Saioh. He went to his table and picked up his cards. "Let's just see about that."

"You know I don't believe in that kind thing," said Misawa. "You aren't going to convince me of anything that way."

"Yes, you would prefer if I dueled you into submission," answered Saioh placidly, "but I don't feel like wasting the effort on you. Shuffle these, if you would, and we will see what the future holds for you."

"That's nonsense," said Misawa. "No matter what cards I draw, you'll make up a meaning to suit yourself."

"Humor me."

Misawa dubiously took the cards and shuffled them, and then handed them back to Saioh. Saioh placed the deck back on his table and began turning them over one by one like pages in a book.

"Let's see what we have here," he murmured. "The Chariot, reversed position, signifying an inability to control one's desires. Just as the chariot's direction is controlled by the beasts pulling it, so does a man represented by the inverted Chariot allow himself to be led by his avarice and ambitions."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"It doesn't? How silly of me," said Saioh. "Here I thought you let yourself be drawn away from your friends, your studies, everything that really mattered to you, for a bit of power and prestige."

"You - you tricked me into it!"

"I only offered it to you, Misawa Daichi. You came to me of your own free will, because you were so greedy for attention that you would follow anyone who would feed your ego," said Saioh. "You may as well admit it: you sold out."

"I... it wasn't like that!"

"Suit yourself," said Saioh. "Let's see what else we have here... Ahh. The Devil, in upright position. This card stands for someone who has completely abandoned himself to his appetites and become enslaved to them. You really are in sad shape, aren't you?"

"I am not enslaved! I can leave any time I want!" Misawa exclaimed. He was unconsciously backing away from Saioh.

"Can you? Where would you go? You've betrayed your friends and alienated your peers. The only thing that protects you is your place in the Society. This is your refuge as well as your prison. You can't leave unless you are willing to face becoming exactly what you were before you got here: a second-tier duelist whom no one respects."

"I am _not_ second-tier!"

"Oh, I allow you have some ability. You're clever enough in your way, when it comes to theoretical aspects of dueling, but you are no more than above-average at best. It takes more than brain-power to become a great duelist, and you simply haven't got it. You haven't got the _soul_ of a duelist, like Juudai, or the Tenjoin siblings, or Manjoume..."

"I _beat_ Manjoume," said Misawa, suddenly confident again. "That was what started this whole business, in case you've forgotten."

"Yes, I remember that," said Saioh mildly. "He lost because I told him to."

"What?"

"Because I told him to," Saioh repeated. "I told him to lose to you, because I knew that was the surest way to turn the school against you. I knew you would be able to tolerate anything but being unpopular, and so you would seek me out and ask me to return - and also that you would be eager to agree to anything that would assure you instant and lasting popularity. It was pathetically easy to manipulate you. Of course, I wouldn't have gone through all the trouble if it weren't for the fact that Juudai seems to like you for some odd reason."

"You... you mean all this was just to get at Juudai?" asked Misawa. He felt as if the floor was dropping out from underneath him.

"What else would I possibly need you for? As I said, you are a second-rate duelist, and your extensive book-knowledge is useless next to my clairvoyant abilities. Frankly, you aren't good for very much," said Saioh. "You realize what that means, don't you, Misawa? It means you need me. You are helpless without me behind you. You could never achieve this level of success without my help. I impressed a fraction of psychic ability on you to turn you into an invincible duelist; I ordered Manjoume and Asuka to start spreading the rumor that you were my favorite so the other Society members would want to curry favor with you; I planted the idea in the minds of your female admirers that you are attractive so they would fawn over you. Everything you have right now is my doing, and I could take it away with a snap of my fingers and you would never get it back. Furthermore, you know I could do the exact opposite and make everyone here despise you, if you made me angry enough. I'm sure you remember how that feels. Now, tell me, do you really want to walk away from me?"

Misawa stared silently, feeling sick. _It was all a lie. No one really cared about me... no one ever really cared..._

"I thought so," said Saioh smugly. "You've sold me your soul, Misawa. You can't get away now. Now that you know the truth about yourself, you aren't going to walk away from your one chance at success. And I am your only chance."

"That... that can't be..."

"No? Then I challenge you. If you believe that any part of what I have told you is untrue - if you really believe that you can get by on your own without my help, or that your friends will accept you back after the way you've treated them - then I invite you to take off that jacket, give me back the cards I gave you, and walk out that door. No one will try to stop you."

Misawa reached up to undo the buttons of his jacket, ready to tell Saioh that he was done with his lies, and that he would rather live a life of obscurity than a life as someone's puppet... but the words wouldn't come. Maybe it was the way Saioh was watching him: impassively, completely calm, as though what Misawa chose made absolutely no difference. It _did_ make no difference, he thought. Nobody was interested in what became of him... and, he realized, he had brought it all on himself. Saioh was right: he had let his longing to be recognized overwhelm his good sense and any other positive feelings he had, and now he was in too deeply to pull back out.

"What is the next card?" he heard himself asking.

Saioh smiled and turned over the card, holding it up for Misawa to see the image of a dark-robed figure.

"Death," he said.

Misawa choked. "Does that mean...?"

"It means an ending," said Saioh. "You've reached the end of the line, I'm afraid. The fun and games are over for you. You are, at this point, superfluous to me and everyone else. Right now, none of your choices are very good, so I think you should just give up and let me handle things."

"No," said Misawa. "I won't believe it. There must be something I can still do..."

Saioh turned over the card in his hands. "Well, perhaps. Even I have been known to misinterpret the signs. I will give you one last chance to prove your worth. Hold out your deck."

Misawa did as he was told. Saioh laid his hand on the surface of the cards, and something like a white mist writhed around them for a moment, giving off a faint scent of ozone.

"There," said Saioh, sounding tired. "That should ensure you don't ruin this completely. Now, go find Yuki Juudai and defeat him. Succeed where your predecessors have failed. If you can do that, there might actually be some hope for you."

Misawa nodded, his mouth dry.

"I'll do it," he said.

* * *

It was raining again. A storm had blown in off the ocean with astonishing suddenness, as if it thought it had been expected earlier and was trying to make up for lost time. Juudai and his friends were lodged in the TV room Manjoume had affixed to the Osiris dorms. The sudden arrival of the downpour had made Fubuki and Shou less than eager to walk all the way back to their respective dorms without so much as an umbrella, so they had decided to camp out on the sofas and go home in the morning. In the meantime, the whole group was settling in to a sleepover atmosphere. Juudai had raided the kitchen and brought out snacks, and Fubuki strummed his ukulele and sang music about the ocean and the blue sky and swimming with the porpoises. Asuka graciously allowed Manjoume to sit next to her, and pretended not to notice if his hand occasionally strayed over to touch hers. Kenzan and Shou sprawled on the floor, playing cards on a mat and arguing companionably about the interpretation of some obscure rule of the game. The sound of the rain beating on the windows only added to the air of coziness inside the room.

The sound of something else beating on the window, though, shattered the party atmosphere entirely.

"What was that?" Shou yelped, ducking behind Kenzan.

"Hey, don't hide behind me!" Kenzan protested.

"But you're bigger than I am!"

There was a flash of lightning outside, and a human shape could be discerned against the darkness, a pale form barely distinguishable from the driving rain behind it.

Whoever it was beat on the window again.

"Hey, let me in!" he shouted. "Guys, it's just me! Open the door!"

"It's Ed!" Juudai exclaimed.

He hurried to unlock the door and let him in. Ed slouched in, dripping rainwater. His usually immaculate clothing was now thoroughly disheveled - not only wet, but torn in places and smudged with sooty black marks that the rain had not completely washed out. Once inside he shed his sodden shoes and started peeling off his jacket.

"Hang on a sec," said Juudai. "I'll get you something dry to wear."

"Thanks," said Ed tiredly.

Juudai hurried off and returned a few moments later carrying his gym suit. Ed accepted it with a silent nod of thanks, and slipped off into the bathroom to change.

"Man, he looks rough," said Juudai sympathetically. "I wonder what happened to him?"

"I wonder what he's doing _here_?" Manjoume said. "I mean, he's got that boat he lives in, right? What would he want to come in this place for?"

Asuka looked thoughtful. "Come to think of it, I didn't see it when we went down to the beach. I might not have noticed it, but I'm almost sure the pier was empty today. Fubuki, you're always down by the water - did you see anything?"

"Not a thing," Fubuki replied. "There weren't any boats docked today that I saw. I guess he's been away."

"Maybe it sunk?" Shou suggested.

Ed returned, looking a bit odd wearing Juudai's baggy sweat suit instead of his usual sleek outfit. As Juudai was a couple of inches taller than Ed, the clothing hung loosely on him, partially covering his hands. He huddled into it as if he were cold.

"Thanks," he said to Juudai, taking his seat gingerly on a nearby chair. He chafed his hands together, warming his fingers, his eyes staring blankly. His deck rested on his lap.

"Hey," said Juudai. "You okay?"

"I don't know," Ed replied. "It's been... a rough night. Look."

He reached for his deck and lifted a card off the top - carefully, as if he expected it to bite him. He held it up, and everyone gathered around for a better look.

"Wow, that looks like a really strong card," said Shou.

"Stronger than you know," said Ed, slipping it back in his deck. "Strong enough to drive a man to murder. This is the card I've been looking for, the last card my father ever made: the Bloo-D."

"I'm guessing you didn't just find it lying on the ground," Manjoume drawled.

"No, I didn't," said Ed. Grimly he added, "The man who had it is dead now."

"What?" Juudai yelped. "Ed, you didn't..."

"I don't know. Not exactly. I mean, it's not something I was trying to do," he replied. He sighed. "Maybe I'd better start over. Did you watch the Pro League finals on TV today?"

"Yeah, we all did," said Kenzan. "We came in off the beach to watch it. At least, we watched it until the station went crazy."

"It wasn't the station. There was a fire at the stadium," said Ed. "Anyway, the man who won the duel, DD. He's my guardian. He adopted me after my father was murdered. Anyway, after the duel ended, he called me on the phone and told me he was going to come out this way and visit me, and I should meet him on his cruise ship. I thought we were going to talk shop and reminisce about old times." He shook his head.

"Was something wrong?" asked Asuka delicately, when Ed showed no signs of wanting to continue.

"Oh, yeah. Something was wrong, all right," said Ed. "He didn't want to talk to me. No, he wanted to duel me - and then he wanted to kill me."

A commotion broke out. Ed waited for the questions and cries of outrage to die down.

"Yeah. It surprised me, too," he said with a twisted smile. "Good old DD. He took care of me when there was no one else I could turn to. He encouraged me to join the pro leagues and helped me with my dueling. He really seemed to care about me." Ed's hands clenched into fists, and he beat them on the arms of the chair. "It was all a lie! He was just trying to protect his own sorry hide! _He_ was the one who killed my father, just to steal this card, and he adopted me so he could keep a closer watch on the crime investigation! And today he got tired of the farce and decided to put an end to me the same way he killed my father."

There was a moment of silence. No one seemed to know what to say.

"Well, it doesn't matter," said Ed. "I'm not dead, obviously. He is. The ship caught on fire, same way the stadium caught on fire. I managed to save the card and escape to my own ship, but... I don't think I could have saved him if I wanted to. He was too far gone." He shook himself. "Anyway, that's not what I came to tell you guys about. Sorry for loading you down with that."

"No, it's okay," said Juudai. "You had to tell somebody, and you can trust us."

"Yeah, I guess," Ed replied. "Anyway, what I really wanted to tell you was that I learned something important about Saioh. It's all tied together - Saioh and DD and this card."

"I don't get it," said Manjoume. "What's Saioh got to do with the stolen card? Was he in on it?"

"Not exactly," said Ed. "DD told me this stuff while we were dueling. I don't know why maybe he wanted to get it off his chest, or maybe he was just showing off. Or maybe there's something to this stuff these Society guys are always saying about how the Light doesn't keep secrets. Anyway, listen to this. Before DD met me, he was just a mediocre duelist down on his luck. He saw the sketch for the Bloo-D card and decided that if he could just get his hands on it, he'd be the greatest duelist in the world, so he decided to break in and steal it. What he didn't know was that somehow that card had gotten infected with that White Light stuff Saioh's always going on about. There was an evil force in it, and when he stole it, it took control of him somehow. That's when he killed my father. But the Light was too strong for him - he couldn't control it, so he took it to this guy he heard about who was supposed to have psychic powers..."

"Saioh!" Juudai guessed.

"Right. So he showed the card to Saioh, and the White Light that was in the card jumped to Saioh, somehow. But there was still just enough left in the card to drive DD insane, and it all boiled over tonight." Ed shrugged uneasily. "The important thing is, we know now that whatever's causing all this trouble with the Society of Light isn't Saioh - it's the Light itself, controlling him. At least, I hope it's controlling him."

"Why do you hope that?" asked Shou.

"Because if it's not controlling him," Ed replied, "then it means he's gone entirely, and all that's left is the Light wearing his body. That means there would be nothing left to do with him except send him up in smoke like DD, and I don't want that to happen. I don't know if DD was ever anything but a crook, but I _know_ Saioh used to be my friend. I've already lost enough to the White Light. I don't want to lose the last real friend I've got left."

There was a solemn moment as everyone contemplated this.

"Actually," said Manjoume, "I'm pretty sure the real Saioh is still hanging around. I met him the other day."

"What?" Juudai asked. "When did that happen?"

Manjoume shrugged. "The night before I left the Society."

"Well, why didn't you tell us about it?" asked Shou.

"I thought it was a dream, okay?" said Manjoume irritably. "Geez! I mean, if you woke up in the middle of the night and met a guy who looks almost exactly like Saioh and doesn't act a thing like him, you'd think you were dreaming too, wouldn't you?"

"I guess," said Juudai.

Ed gave Manjoume a piercing look. "You're sure it wasn't a dream?"

"Sure as I can be," Manjoume replied. "When I asked him who he was, he said he was Saioh's shadow, and said that he could come out and move around when it was dark, and that's why Saioh keeps the lights burning in the Obelisk dorm all the time. We had a long talk about Tarot cards and stuff. Seems like a pretty nice guy. Maybe a little cryptic, but..."

"That does sound like the Saioh I know," Ed agreed, looking relieved.

"Sounds like we're going to have to take on another rescue mission," said Juudai philosophically. "We've been doing that a lot, lately."

"You think we can get him back, then?" asked Ed.

"Why not?" said Manjoume casually. "If he can sneak out once, he can do it again. Getting rid of the other thing might be a little harder, though."

"That's my job," Juudai said. He paused and scratched his head. "Not really sure how I'm going to do it yet, though..."

Shou looked thoughtful. "Well, if Saioh's good side comes out when the lights are off..."

"That would work if the lights ever went off," said Asuka practically.

"They did it before," said Manjoume.

"That was an accident," she pointed out.

Fubuki grinned wickedly. "It won't be this time!"

* * *

The lights of the Obelisk Blue dorm glowed brightly and somewhat desperately against the backdrop of the night sky. The storm had blown over as quickly as it had come, leaving the full moon trying its hardest to beam through the last shreds of clouds, but it couldn't compete with the more earthly lights for sheer brilliance. Nearly every window in the building was lit, so that even the landscape around it was illuminated by it, a situation that made getting near it somewhat difficult. Difficult, that was, for a normal person, but Fubuki was anything but normal. Wrapped in a black sheet, he glided silently across the grass.

"I am ninja, one with the night!" he told himself as he slipped through the shadows. He probably could have accomplished his task just as easily by walking openly through the front door, but what fun would that be? Besides, even if this was his dorm and he had a legitimate reason to be in it, he still didn't want anyone to know he'd been hanging around the scene of the crime.

There was a sound of voices. Fubuki threw himself into the nearest tree and hid in the branches, watching the path. A cluster of students in blue jackets, huddled together for mutual support, were picking their way toward the dorm as if it were the lair of a dragon instead of their home. Fubuki felt sorry for them; none of this mess was their fault.

He leaped out of the tree, making the students yelp in surprise. He stood silhouetted against the brightness of the dorm windows, visible only as a man-shaped form shrouded in black.

"Fear not, my friends!" he declared. "The hour of your deliverance is at hand! Even now, help is on its way, so go forth with brave hearts!"

With that, he bounded off into the darkness again. The students blinked at each other.

"What was that?" one of them asked.

"I think it might have been Fubuki," said his friend.

The third student shook his head. "I don't know what he's on, but I wish he'd share."

Feeling pleased with himself, Fubuki made his way towards the back of the building. The lights were nearly as bright there as they were out front, but there were a good many more trees he could hide in, and even the most determined of lights couldn't pierce all the shadows. Fubuki scaled another tree and crept from limb to limb until he was near to the door he wanted: an unimposing side door that opened to the areas closest to the kitchen and the storage room where they kept the spare linens and cleaning products. Fubuki abandoned his black shroud and walked through the door.

Once inside, he cast a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching him. Satisfied that the coast was clear, he briefly toyed with the idea of going into the kitchen and making himself a sandwich, just to give himself a visible excuse for what he was doing in that part of the building, but discarded the idea as too time-consuming. As long as no one was around, he should be heading for his real goal. Not that he wouldn't have _liked_ a sandwich, but he was not here for the kitchen, nor was he interested in the storage closet. What he wanted was to sneak through a small door that led down a flight of narrow stairs to the basement. He had been in the basement a few times before - it was a convenient make-out spot, if you could get down there without being caught and if you didn't mind occasionally having to share it with another couple or two - but this was the first time he'd ever gone down there with a serious mission in mind.

The stairway was dark, but Fubuki didn't even bother trying to turn on the lights. Not turning on the lights was the whole point of the exercise, after all, and he was determined to do this the way he always did things: in proper style. He slipped a pencil-sized flashlight out of his pocket and flicked it on. A pool of pale bluish light, barely enough to see by, appeared at his feet, and he followed it down the stairs. He moved quietly, listening. Even with things as they stood, there was no guarantee that some of Saioh's followers might not be overcome by a case of raging hormones and decide to slip down here to relieve them. He was relieved to hear nothing but silence, broken only by the softest sounds of people moving around above him. Apparently, if there was any trysting going on, it was staying in the well-lit upper floors.

_I ought to get Saioh just for this,_ he thought a bit peevishly. _Everyone knows it's more romantic to do it in the dark._

Well, he'd help them with that! He picked his way through the debris that cluttered the basement: heaps of boxes and crates, worn-out furniture in need of repair, some rarely-used cleaning equipment that wouldn't fit in the upstairs closet, and assorted other odds and ends that were unidentifiable in the dark. There was even an old bed with a cracked headboard lying down there, which made Fubuki think that either the people who ran the school were either very trusting, totally ignorant, or just didn't care what the students got up to as long as they were discreet about it. He lingered over a few happy memories for a moment before turning his mind back to business.

Tucked discreetly out of the way was a cluster of circuit breaker boxes. It took quite a lot of switches to keep the whole dorm running, and Fubuki took a moment to admire them all. A person could cause a lot of havoc with so many switches at his disposal. Though most of the basement was looking a bit dusty and cobwebbed, these showed signs of being handled recently, probably because of the brief power outage that Manjoume had described. Fubuki wondered if he could cause an even longer outage if he put his mind to it.

"Speed of the ninja!" he exclaimed, and reached out and began flipping switches on and off as quickly as he could. Overhead, he could hear the cries of consternation of students who suddenly found their beloved lights behaving in such strange ways. The noise only encouraged Fubuki to take his abuse of the circuit breakers to new heights. There was an increasing smell of smoke, and then a _zish_ sound accompanied by a number of blue sparks. Fubuki grinned as the whole thing burst into flames. He let the whole thing burn for a while before beating the conflagration out with a pillow seized from a moth-eaten old sofa. Once he was certain that it wasn't likely to flare up again, he turned his flashlight back on and made his way back up the stairs.

A few minutes later, he met up with the rest of the gang in the shrubbery near the dorm.

"Did everything go okay? We saw the lights go out," said Juudai.

"Smooth as silk," said Fubuki cheerfully. "Everyone is going crazy in there - you never saw so many people so afraid of the dark."

"That could be bad," said Ed, frowning. "If everyone is in a panic, won't they be watching for signs of trouble?"

"Nah," Fubuki assured him. "I walked right through the main room past a whole bunch of people, and they didn't even notice me. They were acting like they'd all gone blind - wandering around bumping into things and clinging to the walls. I could have put on a skirt and danced the hula and they wouldn't have looked my way."

"That's weird," said Shou. "It's a full moon out tonight. Even with the lights out, they should have been able to see something."

"Maybe not," Manjoume mused. "I noticed the other night when Juudai came to try to give me my Ojamas back - my night vision was almost totally gone. They really might have been in the Light so long they can't see in the dark anymore."

"Well, we'll never get a better chance to find out," said Juudai. "Let's find Saioh."

They marched bravely though the front doors of the building: Manjoume, Fubuki and Asuka in the lead, Juudai and Ed following closely behind them, and Shou and Kenzan bringing up the rear. They should have attracted some attention - as Shou had surmised, there was a good deal of moonlight slanting in through the windows - but no one seemed to be able to see them. The few students they passed turned to stare blindly in their direction and called out to them, but seemed unaware that some definitely unauthorized personages were passing within a few feet of them.

"Don't worry, it's just me!" said Fubuki as they passed by a pair of frightened-looking White students.

"Fubuki?" called a girl uncertainly. "Who's that with you?"

"Just my sister," he assured her, "and some of her friends."

"Oh, her," said the girl, wrinkling her nose. "Well, I guess it's not your fault she betrayed the Society..."

"Well, it was mostly Manjoume, but I helped too," said Fubuki cheerfully. He watched gleefully as the girl's face twisted in consternation, and she groped blindly as if she'd have liked to slap him. He skipped easily out of the way.

"Stop teasing her," said Asuka. "She doesn't know any better!"

"Hey, lay off," Fubuki replied. "Even I get tired of being charming all the time."

This seemed to infuriate the girl more than ever, but there was nothing she could really do about it. She attempted to pursue him, but the darkness hindered her, and the whole group was able to slip past her without any trouble. She gave up with a noise of disgust and continued trying to pick her way back to her room.

In fact, most of the students in the building seemed to either be primarily concerned with trying to get back to the safety of their rooms, or else they were already there. It made the going a lot easier.

"I've never seen this place so empty," Manjoume murmured as they crept up the stairs.

"This is creepy," said Shou, huddling closer to Juudai.

"Hey, don't worry," Juudai assured him. "The dark is good for us, remember? Besides, nobody in here is going to hurt us, except maybe Saioh."

"The Light," Ed corrected. "Not Saioh."

"Right, right, sorry," said Juudai.

They climbed the stairs as quietly as they could until they reached the top floor. There, Juudai cast a curious glance at Manjoume, who silently pointed out the door to Saioh's room. Judging by the expression on his face, he had no intention of going first, and was more than happy to let Juudai be the one to face Saioh - or whatever was in there - first. Juudai, knowing his place in the scheme of things, walked bravely up to the door, raised a hand to knock on it, and then changed his mind and put his ear to the crack. The others crowded around him.

"Hear anything?" Kenzan whispered.

"Shh," Juudai hissed back. "He's talking to someone."

Sure enough, there were voices inside, carrying on what sounded like an argument. One voice was high and screeching, unpleasant to the ear. The other spoke in quiet, measured tones, replying calmly to whatever the other voice said.

"Don't think you can fool me!" the hissing voice said. "I know you must be behind this somehow!"

"And I have told you repeatedly that I have done nothing," the calmer voice replied. "I could not. Haven't I been with you the whole time? What could I do that you would not notice?"

"Then you've influenced someone," the other voice replied. "This is the second power outage this week, and you can't convince me that you had nothing to do with it! It's all too convenient for you."

"Perhaps Fate is on my side."

That calm surmise was met with incomprehensible raving. Juudai pulled away from the door.

"Maybe this isn't a good time," he said. "I think he's busy."

"Who cares?" Ed hissed back at him. "Just open the door!"

Juudai shrugged. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

He pushed the door open and barged into the room, and found himself face to face with Saioh... both of him. There appeared to be two people seated at Saioh's table, both of them nearly identical to each other. By luck or design, one sat in a pool of moonlight that spilled through the window, casting a faint white halo around him, while the other sat in darkness - quietly, with his hands folded in his lap. He seemed to be slightly transparent. Both of them turned to stare at Juudai as he entered.

"Um," said Juuda. "Hi. How's it going?"

The Light Saioh gave Juudai a look of pure malevolence. The aura around him seemed to warp and shimmer, making him look as if white flames danced over him. Juudai took an involuntary step back. There was something in that face that hadn't been there the last time he had talked to Saioh, something unnaturally pinched and stretched, as if the skin were only a mask over something that was threatening to break through at any moment. Juudai wasn't used to seeing that level of sheer hatred directed at him, and for a moment he didn't quite know what to do about it.

He didn't have to. Ed pushed past him, nearly throwing him off his feet.

"Saioh!" Ed cried, rushing for the shadowed figure. He looked as if he wanted to touch him - to take his hands or put an arm around him - but Saioh raised a hand to stop him.

"No, Ed," he said softly. "Not yet. I am not... entirely here at the moment."

Ed restrained himself, and settled for standing somewhat awkwardly at Saioh's side.

"I knew you wouldn't really leave," he said.

"I did not want to leave you," Saioh answered, his expression sorrowful.

"How very touching," said the Light Saioh with a sneer. "Do you think that you are going to overcome me by force of numbers?"

"I think you need to give our friend his body back," said Juudai quietly.

"Why should I?" Light Saioh replied. "He gave it to me, and I have no intention of giving it back. I need it more than he does."

"Need it for what?" Ed demanded.

"To purify the world! _He_ won't do it. He's too much of a coward."

"He's too good a person, you mean," said Ed.

The Light Saioh grinned wickedly. "Is that so? How little you know. Your friend there _wanted_ me to bring about the end of all things! If there was not some part of him that agreed with me, I would not have been able to control him for so long. Even now, he is unable to tear himself from me. He lacks the willpower... don't you, Saioh?"

"I want nothing more than to be free of you," Saioh snapped. "I... I admit that there was a time when I let you tempt me, but that was a moment of weakness, not my true desire."

Ed gave Saioh a stunned look. "You actually wanted to help this guy?"

"I wanted to indulge my own selfish wishes," said Saioh softly. Then he raised his eyes to stare at his opposite number. "I let my desire for revenge blind me for a short while, but that time is over. I am more than ready to be free of you and your ideas of purifying the world."

"And what will you do if you get rid of me? Go back to what you were?" the Light taunted. "Have you forgotten where you were when I found you? Your own family disowned you. Nobody wanted you. Society feared you. To the rest of the world, you're nothing but a freak. What makes you think you'll have any kind of life if you send me away? You're better off letting me take care of things for you."

"No, he's not," said Ed. "And it's not true that no one will want him. He's my friend, and even if no one else wants him around, _I_ do."

"We all do," said Juudai firmly.

Light Saioh gave Juuda a baleful look. "What do you want with him? He's never done anything for you."

"I don't choose my friends because they've done something for me," said Juudai. "To tell the truth, I just like having friends around. If he wants to hang with us, why not? It's not like I haven't got weirder friends. I mean, I hang out with aliens and dinosaurs and monster spirits and stuff. Next to the rest of my buddies, he seems pretty normal to me."

Saioh gave Juudai a look of surprise.

"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't take much to be weirder than us," Kenzan agreed.

Asuka looked faintly amused. "Well, my own brother is the one who's been running around campus tonight dressed like a ninja, so I'm not one to talk."

"What's weird about that?" Fubuki asked.

A faint smile crossed Saioh's face. Ed place a hand on the back of his chair and gave him a smile in return.

"For what it's worth," he said, "I never thought there was anything strange about you. You're the only real friend I've ever had." He jerked his thumb at the other Saioh. "Now, _him_ - he's strange. I'd just as soon he went back where he came from."

"So let's get rid of him!" said Juudai cheerfully. He fixed a glare at the Other. "You heard us. Scram."

There was a moment of stillness. Then Other snarled. The moonlight around him rippled and warped, spreading away from him like tentacles, reaching for Saioh. Juudai darted between them, upturning the table and scattering Tarot cards in all directions. The lights reached for him, and his friends cried out in alarm. Juudai stood his ground as the lights shot towards him... and then bounced harmlessly away from him. Ed and Saioh stood beside him, flanking him on either side, and the shadows seemed to be thickening between them and around them, forming an impenetrable wall. Juudai stood quietly in the center of this activity, his eyes looking strangely dark and blank.

"Go away," he said. "Nobody wants you here, so go away. Go back to where you came from."

"You can't make me do anything!" the Light snarled. "I have the power here!"

"Not anymore. The balance is tipping,"said a voice from within Juudai. It did not sound like his voice, but something much deeper and older. "Leave, and return to the place from whence you came."

The Light cringed away. "You haven't beaten me yet! I still have... one last option..."

"Your host has rejected you. You can no longer feed off of his power. Go."

There was a moment when the space between the two of them twisted and warped in a way that made all the onlookers feel sick to their stomachs and reach instinctively for something to hold on to. Then they blinked and everything was back to normal. There was an overturned table, and a scattering of cards on the floor, and Saioh sitting in a chair looking as though he had no idea what had happened. There was also Ed, who was trying to hold Juudai off the floor. Juudai himself appeared to have fainted. Juudai's friends gathered around him with exclamations of worry. Only Manjoume hung back. He fixed Saioh with a suspicious look.

"So are you the real one?" he asked. "Or are you the other one?"

Saioh half-smiled.

"I hear you finally found out what an Ojama is," he said.

Manjoume nodded. "The real one, then. Good."

Juudai, meanwhile, was coming around.

"Oh, man," he said. "That was a really weird trip."

"Are you okay?" Kenzan asked him.

"What did you _do_?" asked Shou.

"I'm not really sure," said Juudai, his expression baffled. "Something just kind of... took hold of me!"

"Well, whatever you did, it seems like it worked," said Asuka.

Ed, seeing that Juudai was in good hands, separated himself from the group to rejoin his old friend.

"So you're really okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," said Saioh. He tried to stand, faltered, and fell back into his seat.

"Not _that_ okay," said Ed. He sighed and shook his head. "Man, am I ever glad to see you back to normal. You had me worried."

Saioh bowed his head. "You should not have worried about me. I am not worth your time."

"What? That's not true! Saioh, you know that's not true..."

"Do not lie to yourself, Ed," Saioh told him firmly. "You have called me your friend, and you know now that this is not true. I knew who murdered your father, and I never told you..."

"You couldn't tell me. You had that thing jerking you around," said Ed. "Anyway, I've already settled with DD."

"Then now is the time to settle with me, as well," Saioh replied.

"There's nothing to settle," said Ed firmly. "You've always been my friend - the only one I ever had."

"Only because I was a coward," Saioh replied. "Long before I met you, I knew it would be my fate to bring something terrible into the world. I sought you out because I thought you would have the power to save me. It was only out of sheer selfishness that I took you under my wing."

"I see," said Ed thoughtfully. He gave Saioh a thoughtful look. "What did you mean when you were talking about revenge?"

"It was even as he said," Saioh replied. "When my sister and I began displaying our powers as children, our superstitious family called us demons and turned us out of the house. I spent my childhood on the streets, doing all I could just to keep Mizuchi and myself fed and housed. Eventually we were able to make our way - even become wealthy - by making careful use of our powers, but we were always outcasts. The Light... offered me the chance for things I'd never had before. For the first time in my life, I became beloved by all who met me, admired for my power instead of shunned. And at the end of everything, there was the chance to punish everyone who had made me suffer. A part of me wanted to destroy the world just so I would not have to face being rejected by it any longer."

"Did you want to destroy me?" asked Ed.

"No. No, never you," said Saioh.

"Then you're nothing like DD," Ed replied firmly, "and I've got nothing to forgive you for. You've been keeping me sane all these years. As far as I'm concerned, you're still my friend."

Saioh gave him a look of gratitude.

"I hate to break up the party," said Manjoume, "but if we've done what we came for, maybe we ought to be getting out of here?"

"What for?" asked Shou. "I mean, that thing is gone, isn't it?"

"Gone, but not far," Saioh replied. He got to his feet. "You were only able to banish it so easily because its power was divided. Earlier today, it placed part of its power elsewhere. I suspect it is very likely that it has simply escaped to a new host. The danger isn't over yet... and that means the Society still stands. I think it might be best if I went somewhere else for a while. The students here might be a bit distressed to learn that I am no longer... what they expect."

"You wanna come to our sleepover?" asked Juudai. "We were having a blast until Ed showed up. You can still crash with us."

Saioh looked startled for a moment, and then his features relaxed into a smile.

"Yes," he said, as gravely as if accepting an invitation to a royal palace. "I think I would like very much to attend this... this sleepover."

"Awesome," Juudai cheered. "Let's get outta this creepy place."

"Agreed," said Saioh.

They left as silently as they had entered, slipping through the silent halls of Obelisk Blue. They somehow seemed to lack some grandeur now that the lights were out, and the brilliant white paint on the walls was turned dull blue by the moonlight. There were no people anywhere in sight; all of them had taken shelter in their own rooms to sit and wait for the light to return. The building was a dark, empty shell. It was good to finally reach the exit and step out into the night. They hurried as quickly as they could back to the Osiris dorm.

"Well, here it is!" said Juudai as he opened the front door for Saioh. "It ain't much, but we call it home."

Saioh's gaze swept around the room. The cat uncurled himself from some dark corner and wandered over to twine around Saioh's ankles, purring loudly, and Saioh obediently crouched to scratch Pharaoh's ears.

"I think I like it," he said.

Meanwhile, back at the Obelisk dorm, Misawa was sitting in the dark. He knew that as second-in-command of the Society, he should be out doing something to deal with this problem, or at least attempting to get people calmed down. He knew he could do it - he had flashlights laid aside for emergencies like this - but he did nothing. In the mood he was in right now, he felt that the Society could look after itself for a while. They were all welcome to suffer along with him.

He lay back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, or at least at the place where the ceiling would be if he could see it. It bothered him slightly how little he could see in the dark, but not nearly as much as other things were bothering him, so he put it all out of his mind. Actually, the dark wasn't so bad, if one accepted not being able to see where they were going. He felt as if the light had been a physical burden he'd been carrying, and now he could breathe more easily.

_All right. I have to start thinking again,_ he told himself. _If I think about this logically, I'm sure there has to be some way out of this mess. At the very least, I can try to minimize the damage. Now, let's start from the bottom. If you filter through everything you've been told, how much of it is verifiable fact?_

He frowned, trying to pull his thoughts together. He felt reasonably sure that at least some of what Saioh had told him was true: he really had allowed himself to be manipulated into turning on his friends. Saioh had never been interested in him as anything other than a pawn he could use to get to Juudai. That meant that he had no guarantee that if he stayed, the privileges he had been enjoying would not be revoked. As a matter of fact, if he did go through with what he'd been told to do and defeat Juudai, he would probably be cast aside entirely. He was no longer sure that what he'd been getting from the Society was what he wanted, anyway. He wanted to be appreciated for his own merits, not fed empty flattery just because someone said he ought to be.

_I suppose this is what I get for wanting to take the easy way to the top._

And yet, that wasn't all of it. What he wanted, he realized, was what Juudai and the others had - whatever it was that made it possible for him and his friends to spend the day playing around on the beach and generally having a good time and not have a care about who was winning this stupid tournament.

_Juudai and his friends. What a way to think of them. They used to be my friends, too... I wonder what happened?_

He cast his mind back to the beginning, back to the day of exams when he had first started meeting everyone. He'd had things under control, then. He'd passed the exams with a perfect score, won his entry duel with flying colors, and had gotten himself into a respectable dorm. People had been offering him promotions within his first month. He and Juudai and the rest of the group had gotten along well, hung out together in their free time, and dueled each other for the fun of it without worrying about who won or lost. They'd been friends, but somehow, something had gone wrong.

_People used to respect me,_ he mused. _Now they don't. Why not?_ And then he thought, _When was the last time I did anything worth noticing?_

Looking back, he had to admit that it had been a while. The last thing he could remember doing that was in any way notable was when he was selected to carry one of the seven Star Keys. He had been so proud of that! Being chosen as one of the seven best duelists in the school, on par with third-year students, even with the Kaiser himself... that was something that would make anyone hold his head high. He had been eager to start dueling and proving himself against these Seven Stars.

But that had fallen through. He'd let Taniya charm him into overlooking a trap card, and his foolish oversight had him the duel and the school one of its precious lines of defense against the darkness. That loss and those that followed had damaged his spirit. Before that day, he had believed that he was something special - that he wasn't subject to the weaknesses that other people had. To have it incontestably proven to him that he was vulnerable to those same weaknesses and that they could strike him down when it was most important had been a blow to his pride. He had gotten over his ill-fated infatuation with Taniya, but he had never quite forgotten the fact that he was not as brilliant or invincible as he thought he was.

_No wonder people stopped looking up to me,_ he thought. _I stopped looking up to myself._

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Once he had stopped believing he was special, other people were bound to follow suit. Believing that he was no longer worth being noticed, he had begun withdrawing from his friends' company - while at the same time becoming overwhelmed by a desire to have someone, anyone, reaffirm for him that there was still something good about him. He had pulled away wishing that someone would come running after him, to tell him that it was really all right and they wanted him to come back and stand in the spotlight.

_But it isn't going to work. It's time for me to start standing on my own two feet again. I don't need Saioh or anyone else to raise me up - I'll find my own way. Somehow, I will find my way..._

Suddenly he felt a great deal better. He stood up and smiled, eager to begin. He would get out of this dorm, go back to Ra Yellow, burn the white uniform, and get to work on making something of himself instead of waiting for everyone else to discover some spark of brilliance in him.

"I'll go find Juudai," he said aloud. "I don't care what Saioh says, Juudai will forgive me if I ask him to. But first, I'm getting rid of these cards."

He reached for the deck Saioh had given him, intending to throw it out the window, box and all. When it touched it, though, his hand seemed to fuse to it, and try as he might, he could not let go. At the same instant, there was a burst of light that illuminated the entire room with a sickly blue-white glow.

"What... what is this? What's happening?"

_This is the Light,_ a voice in his head hissed. _You have been my servant this long and you do not know who I am? We will change that._

"Too late," said Misawa. "I've had enough of the Society and the Light and everything else in this place. I'm leaving, so let go of my hand!"

_No. I need you._

"But I don't want to help you! There is nothing you could offer me that would make me want to stay here another minute!"

_The time for persuasion is over, Misawa Daichi. I will make you do what I need done, and you do not get a choice in the matter._

Panicked, Misawa struggled to pull away, but his body would not obey him. Ropes of white light wound up from the deck to wrap around his arm, his torso, his throat. They twined around his face, creeping irresistibly towards his eyes. He tried to close them, but the light forced his eyelids open, and everything went white...

**To Be Continued...**


	6. Pride

_**Author's Notes:**__ Most of the cards in Misawa's deck are my own invention. Hopefully I didn't make any mistakes with the dueling bits. Enjoy the grand finale!_

**Pride**

**By: SilvorMoon**

Juudai walked into the TV room carrying a tray. Everyone else had gone to the cafeteria to eat breakfast, but it was agreed by all that bringing Saioh into the dining hall of the Osiris Red dorm was probably not the wisest thing to do. Juudai had volunteered to bring him some food. Since Juudai was usually the first to finish eating anyway (and because he also had a habit of stealing food off other people's plates when he was done with his own share) no one had objected to him sneaking off early carrying an extra tray.

"Morning, Saioh!" he said cheerily. "I brought you breakfast!"

"Thank you, Juudai," Saioh answered politely. He was seated on one of the sofas, combing out his hair. He had spent the night there, and was looking unusually ruffled with his clothes wrinkled from being slept in and his hair in disarray. Nevertheless, his expression looked refreshed, perhaps because he no longer had the Light of Ruin burning inside him. When Juudai passed him the tray, a bemused expression crossed his face, but he accepted the food graciously. "That was thoughtful of you."

"It was no problem," said Juudai. He plopped down onto the sofa next to Saioh and made himself comfortable. "So, what do you plan on doing now?"

"My eventual plan is to return to Domino to see if my sister can be rescued," he answered gravely, "and then we will likely go back to our home. But I can't leave yet, not until I know that the Light of Ruin has left this world for good."

"So you're sure it's still on the island somewhere?" asked Juudai.

"I am quite certain," Saioh replied. "I'm afraid it will take more than an effort of will to defeat the Light."

"And you say you think it's attached itself to one of the other students?"

Saioh nodded gravely. "It took a risk. When your friend Misawa came to... us... expressing doubts about the Society, the Light persuaded him that he is powerless to escape. The Light is gambling that you will not be willing to battle directly against your friend and risk any injury coming to him, so it placed part of itself in Misawa's deck so it would be able to manipulate him during the battle. I believe it most likely that the Light has taken refuge with him now."

"That's not good," said Juudai.

"No, it isn't," Saioh agreed patiently. "However, you do have one advantage in this situation that you would not have if you were facing the Light of Ruin while it was still inhabiting my body."

"What's that?" Juudai asked.

"The Light seems to desire certain qualities in its host. It originally chose DD, but DD was too worldly and unable to contain it, so it moved on to me. I was a more spiritual creature, and already suited to containing unearthly powers, and the Light found me a good fit. Your friend Misawa, however, is a more pragmatic creature. If the Light has taken refuge with him, it is because it had no other choice, not because he was a _good_ choice. I am sure that it will try to find its way back to me eventually. If we are reunited, you may not be able to banish it again, but as long as it is hiding within your friend..."

"I get it," said Juudai. "So there's a good chance we can knock that Light of Ruin thing out of Misawa and make it go away forever? I'm all over that."

"Don't underestimate the Light's power. You've only faced it while it was at a disadvantage; the next time, it will be much stronger," Saioh warned. "It will be watching for you next time, and planning what to do about you. You mustn't allow yourself to be careless."

"You don't have to worry," said Juudai. "I've handled some pretty hairy situations before this. I'm getting kinda used to dealing with this freaky stuff. Anyway, I'm not letting that Light of Ruin mess with my friend!"

"Then I wish you the best of luck," said Saioh. "For what it's worth, I think you have a chance."

"I _know_ I have a chance," Juudai agreed.

The sound of footfalls made them both look up to see Manjoume come rushing in.

"Hey, Juudai, get off your butt and come have a look outside," he snapped. "We've got a problem here!"

"What kind of problem?" Juudai asked, getting up to follow Manjoume.

The two of them went outside and climbed up onto the second floor walkway. Kenzan was already waiting there, wearing an expression of concern.

"What's the problem?" asked Juudai. "I don't see anything."

"You've got to get higher up," Manjoume explained. "Unless you want to go out for a closer look, but you're probably safer on the roof. Come on - everyone else is already up there."

Baffled but agreeable as ever, Juudai allowed Kenzan to give him a boost up, and then paused to help Manjoume climb up after him. Kenzan pulled himself up, and all three of them walked carefully to the edge of the roof where Shou, Asuka, and Fubuki were already waiting. Fubuki was peering through a pair of binoculars.

"No change," he said, passing them to Manjoume.

"I didn't think there would be," Manjoume replied, "considering I was gone all of five minutes."

He handed the binoculars to Juudai, who obediently looked through them.

"I don't see anything," he said.

"Look towards the main school building," Asuka instructed him.

Juudai turned slightly and fiddled with the focus knob. A movement caught his attention, and he zoomed in on it. There was definitely a commotion going on in front of the school, and it appeared to be caused by a number of students wearing white coats.

"Okay, that looks bad," he said. "What the heck is it? A riot?"

"Looks that way," said Manjoume. "Guess the kids in white figured out that Saioh's gone missing."

"Yeah, I guess they would notice, after a while," said Juudai. "Well, I got some news, too. I was talking to Saioh just now, and he says he thinks the Light of Ruin is hiding with Misawa!"

"Well, that's just great," Manjoume muttered. "Now he'll be even more of a pain in the neck than he was before."

"Aw, c'mon, don't say that," said Juudai. "He's our friend and he's in trouble. If we can save him, everything can finally go back to normal."

"Shouldn't we do something about the riots first?" asked Shou uneasily. In the distance, the sounds of shouting could be heard, and there was a short sharp sound of breaking glass.

"Yeah, maybe somebody ought to look into that," Juudai agreed. "Okay. Let's plan this. If the Society people find Saioh, they're going to be in trouble. That Light of Ruin thing might even try to take him back, and Saioh says it'll be a lot harder to get rid of the thing if that happens. Somebody's got to stay here and make sure nobody finds out where he's hiding. Kenzan, Shou, can you guys keep an eye on him for us?"

"Yeah, I can do that," said Shou, looking glad he would not be called upon to face the mob.

"No problem!" Kenzan agreed. "I make a good bodyguard."

"Thought so," said Juudai. "Manjoume, you're always good at working a crowd - think you can get that mess out there under control?"

Manjoume preened a bit at this recognition of my talents. "I think I can handle it."

"Great," said Juudai. "Asuka, Fubuki, you're the only ones here allowed inside the Obelisk dorm, so I might need your help getting to Misawa. You up for it?"

"You can count on us!" said Fubuki, and Asuka nodded in agreement.

"Then we've got a game plan," said Juudai. "Let's do this, gang!"

The six students scampered down from the rooftop. They took off in various directions, and within moments, it was impossible to tell there had been anyone there at all.

* * *

Early that morning, there had been no indication in the Obelisk dorm that a riot was about to begin. The students had slept peacefully in their beds - a few with their blinds drawn to keep the morning sun out of their eyes, but the vast majority with their curtains flung wide and their night-lights shining on their faces, smiling as they dreamed of a perfect, clean white world. Then, one by one, alarm clocks began going off, and the drowsy students dragged themselves out of bed and prepared to face a new day. Hair was combed, showers were taken, teeth were brushed, and uniforms were put on. A few people hurried to finish last-minute homework. Some burrowed under the covers and tried to snatch a few more minutes of sleep. All was peaceful. Gradually, they began trickling into the dining hall for breakfast. That was where the trouble started. As of late, Saioh had taken to dining along with them, and no one could help but look towards his customary chair and wonder why he was not in it. While it was not unusual for him to take to hiding in his room for long periods of time, one student worked up the nerve to go up to his door after breakfast and investigate the situation. He knocked hesitantly.

"Master Saioh?" he called. "Is everything all right?... Hello? Master Saioh, are you there? Master Saioh!"

"He isn't going to answer," said a voice.

The boy spun around. Standing behind him was Misawa, or someone like Misawa. His hair and eyes were the wrong color, as if they had been bleached. The effect of those strange silvery eyes was particularly disturbing; looking at them from any direction but straight on made them appear to be simply blank white spaces where his eyes should be. They appeared to be glowing slightly, which had to be an optical illusion, but didn't make them any more comfortable to look at.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked, with a quaver in his voice.

"I mean what I said," Misawa replied. "He isn't there. _They_ got him."

"Who is they?"

"Juudai and his friends. They came in the night, overpowered him, and took him away," Misawa answered.

"Oh, no..." the student whimpered, sinking to his knees. "What are we gonna do?"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Misawa replied. "We're going to get him back, and we're going to punish the people who took them from us."

"But... how will we able to fight them without Master Saioh to help us?"

"Don't worry. All is not lost. The power of the Light is still with us."

The student barely felt Misawa's hand on his shoulder. Such comforting gestures meant nothing with Saioh gone - losing him felt like losing the sun. How could anyone expect to face the world without him? Yet, even as he was thinking that, he felt a new strength ebbing into him, that warm feeling of being part of something wonderful and powerful, the feeling of completion that every member of the Society had been trained to crave like a drug. The boy looked up and met Misawa's strangely glowing eyes.

"Yes," said Misawa. "The power has passed on to me now. The Society will never be unprotected. I will guide you until Saioh is returned to his rightful place."

The student beamed, his momentary despair all but forgotten. Like any of his brothers and sisters in the Society, he wasn't attached to Saioh for his own sake so much as for what he could do, and would have gladly followed anyone who could give him that feeling of blissful harmony with the universe.

"What do you want us to do?" he asked.

"Come along, and I'll tell you," Misawa replied. "Is everyone still in the dining hall?"

"Almost everyone," the boy replied.

"Tell them they have orders from the top to stay where they are," Misawa replied. "Then send a few people to find any stragglers. I want all of them gathered so I can speak to them. Don't tell them what's going on yet - leave that to me!"

"Yes sir, Master Misawa!" the student said, and hurried off to obey orders.

Misawa stood there a moment, as if afflicted with some sudden indecision. Then he began walking, albeit a bit stiffly, towards the dining hall.

_Do you hear that, Misawa?_ taunted the voice in his head. _He called you master. That's what you wanted, isn't it?_

_Shut up,_ Misawa thought back. Not that there was anything he could do about it. The Light was in his very nerves, jerking his muscles and firing his synapses, and he had no doubt that it could stop his heart if it decided to. If he fought the thing too much, it could inflict agonizing pain on him as easily as it had elicited ecstacy before. He'd found that out quickly enough last night.

The only thing he had to be grateful for, and that was little enough, was that the thing controlling him didn't have _complete_ control. It was as if his body was an ill-fitting suit that the Light was wearing, one that was a little too tight here and a little too loose there. Where it fit too closely, the Light's true self shone through, making it impossible to hide the fact that there was something not-quite-right about Misawa's appearance today. Where it fit too loosely, though... that was the lucky part, because Misawa could still keep a pice of himself separate. He could still think for himself, make observations, formulate plans, even make a few voluntary movements if the Light wasn't paying close attention. He was saving that, though. No point in wasting his energy on fruitless gestures of independence. For now, he was determined to wait, watch, and hope for a chance to disrupt a crucial moment.

_You should be thanking me. I'm giving you an excuse. Now you can tell your old friends I made you do it all. You could do whatever you wanted to, now, and no one would ever blame you for it. Why not just relax and enjoy yourself?_

Misawa considered letting the Light know exactly what he thought of that proposition, and then changed his mind. If he was going to have any success at all in fighting the Light, he was going to have to swallow his pride and pretend to play along. His only hope was that he could lull it into a sense of security. If he could convince it that he was willing to help it, perhaps its grip would slip just enough that he could do something that would make a difference. Yet, it wouldn't do to appear too eager.

_What is it I should be enjoying, exactly?_ he asked it.

_Why, anything. What is it you want?_

Misawa thought quickly, trying to think of something that the Light would believe.

_You were right. I have to admit, I wanted to be master of the Society all along. I know you need Saioh as your host, but I'm willing to go along with you if you'll let everyone keep seeing me as the real power._

_Easily done. I can no longer trust Saioh. Now that he has had a taste of freedom, he will resist me all the more strongly. If you will give me your allegiance of your own free will, then you will naturally make a better leader._

_And I want the GX Championship._

_That is a matter of no consequence, but if it pleases you, help yourself. No one will stop you._

_While I'm making requests, I'm not too thrilled with this habit of yours of picking out female companions for me. I want a choice from now on._

_Fine. Select any or all of them, if you wish. They're yours for the taking._

If he'd actually been in control of is stomach at the moment, he probably would have felt sick to it, but at the moment all he could manage was a mental shudder that he hoped the Light wouldn't feel.

_You have a deal, then,_ he told it.

_And what of Yuki Juudai and the rest of your friends?_

_Oh, please,_ Misawa replied. _You know I only bothered with them because they were the only ones who paid any attention to me. I don't need them anymore._

Mentally, he begged his friends to forgive him, and hoped the Light wouldn't notice.

_I am not entirely convinced of your loyalty. I will handle things for the time being._

_I can be patient,_ Misawa replied. That, at least, was true.

_Then settle down and let me work._

A few minutes later, the entire Society of Light was assembled in the dining hall, awaiting word from their leader. They were expecting to see Saioh. What they actually saw was someone closely resembling Misawa, who stood at the front of the room and raised his hands to draw their attention.

"Members of the Society of Light!" he intoned. "I come before you today with dire news. Our beloved leader has been taken from us by the forces of Darkness!"

The announcement was met with gasps and wails. He waited a moment for the fuss to die down before gesturing that they be silent.

"I know it is hard to believe," he said gravely. "I have reason to believe that this act was performed by none other than Yuki Juudai, the chosen avatar of Darkness, and that he was assisted substantially by certain traitors to our organization who passed him the information he needed, and by one of those arrogant Obelisk Blue students who continue to resist the Light while still daring to dwell in _our_ headquarters. Now you see what comes of permitting traitors in our midst! Had we been more diligent in rooting out these traitors, spies, and blasphemers, Saioh would still be here today!"

Groans and wails rose up from the audience as they contemplated their guilt.

"What can we do?" several voices asked.

"We must correct our mistakes," Misawa replied. "We must find Saioh and find our enemies, even if we have to turn the entire school upside-down to do it! We will stop at nothing to ensure a victory for the Light! Our first priority, of course, must be finding Saioh. He has spent the entire night in the hands of the Darkness, and there is no knowing what they may have done to him. He may even be confused enough to believe he doesn't want to return. If that is the case, he must be brought back here by whatever means necessary, for his own good. Anyone who gets in our way must be brought under our control. There will be no more choices offered! If they will not come to the Light voluntarily, they must be brought to it by force. The only exceptions will be the traitors, Manjoume Jun and Tenjoin Asuka. Their hearts have been blinded to the Light, and they can no longer be trusted. If you encounter them, do whatever seems necessary to ensure they will that they will not double-cross us again. Also, there are two others, Yuki Juudai and Ed Phoenix. These two are dangerous. They carry darkness like a plague and spread it to all those who come in contact with them. Do not attempt to subdue them. If you find them, report directly to me. Now go, and show our enemies the full power of the Light!"

There was a roar from the crowd that was composed of equal parts approval and bloodlust. The Society had been holding itself in check for a long time; the open invitation to unleash their full power on anyone within radius was not one they would pass up. They rose like a white tide and rushed toward the doors, ready to take on anyone who stood before them. Their self-appointed leader watched them go with an air of smug satisfaction.

"That ought to take care of things for the moment," he said.

Misawa simply fumed... and watched, and waited.

* * *

Kenzan stood guard outside the Osiris dorm. Of course, he had to make it look like he was simply hanging around, maybe hoping for someone to wander by so he could duel them. He didn't stay in the same place too long, but he never ventured so far away that he couldn't see the door to Manjoume's addition. Saioh was still hiding there, with Ed and Shou with him to provide both companionship and backup protection, but someone had to stand lookout and try to dissuade anyone from poking around where they didn't belong. In the distance, he could still hear the shouts of the White students as they demanded the return of their leader.

Then it became quiet. Kenzan began to tense up. As long as the Whites were in front of the school rioting, at least he knew where they were. He doubted the hush meant they had all been subdued. That silence was the silence of a predator hunting. His eyes glittered as he scanned his surroundings for signs of movement.

His caution was not unwarranted. Within moments, a crowd of about five Whites, male and female, came stalking up the road, looking for trouble. They looked at Kenzan with suspicion.

"Hey, you!" one of them barked; Kenzan remembered him vaguely as a boy who had once been part of his own little gang, what seemed like forever ago. "You're one of Juudai's friends, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's me," Kenzan replied, folding his arms in a practiced movement that drew attention to his rippling muscles. "You got a problem with that, small-fry?"

"You better watch who you're calling a small-fry," the boy snapped back. "You don't scare us! The Light is more powerful than you could ever imagine!"

Kenzan faked a yawn. "Right. Tell me another one. Your buddy Saioh tried to use his magic or mind-powers or whatever it is to get me to join his little fan club, and he couldn't do diddley-squat to me. If he can't hurt me, what do you think you're going to do?"

That silenced the group for a moment.

"It's just like Misawa said," one of the girls piped up. She had been one of the first to be conscripted into Misawa's "fan club" and still harbored feelings of attachment to him. "Everything Juudai touches gets polluted. This one has been blinded to the Light."

The others nodded at this revelation. "You're right - he's polluted! We'll have to wipe him out."

"Oh, izzat so?" said Kenzan. He grinned, showing off very white teeth. His eyes glittered unnaturally. "You saying you wanna duel me, or should we thrash it out the old-fashioned way? I'll take you on either way or both, if you want."

He powered up his Duel Disk and stood waiting, still grinning his unnerving toothy smile, looking as casual as he knew how. The Whites took a few steps backwards, suddenly overcome by the feeling that this calm, smiling boy was about to leap on them and rip their throats out with his teeth.

"Look, we aren't looking for any trouble," said the boy who had first spoken. "We're just trying to find something we're missing, so just step aside and let us pass."

"I'm not blocking the road," said Kenzan. He leaned on the bannister of the front stairs and waved a hand, motioning that they could freely walk past them.

"We can see what's on the road," the boy snapped back. "We want into the dorm."

"What would you want in there?" Kenzan replied, feigning innocence. "I can tell you now, it's not much to see. Whatever you lost, it probably ain't there, anyway. Take it up the road."

"Why don't you let us decide where to look?" said the boy. "Or are you hiding something?"

"Not hiding anything. What have we got to hide?" said Kenzan. "We just don't like your kind around here. You want in, you'll have to get past me, first."

The Whites turned to each other and whispered, while Kenzan stood and waited. Then someone gave a shout, and the three boys broke away from the group and lunged at Kenzan, battering him with their fists and feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two girls go racing up the stairs. There was nothing he could do about that, however, while he still had three people trying to pummel him.

Fortunately, dealing with that problem didn't take long. The Light may have been powerful, but it obviously didn't do anything for its followers' physiques. Within minutes, Kenzan had knocked all three boys senseless. Once he was free of them, he walked over to the window of the addition and tapped out a signal. A moment later, he heard the responding tap that meant Plan B was going into operation. Satisfied that Ed and Shou were on the job, he set about cleaning up the mess he'd made. His attackers were still out cold, and likely to stay that way a while, and he couldn't just leave them lying around where people would see them. He rolled up their unresisting bodies and stuffed them into some nearby trash cans, taking savage glee in getting their pristine white uniforms dirty.

Meanwhile, the two girls were scouring the dorm from top to bottom, searching under beds and peering in closets. They made a cursory inspection of the kitchen and dining hall, spent more time than they would have liked amid the dust and cobwebs that had taken over Daitokuji's old office, and even attempted an exploration of the catwalks on the ceiling that Pharaoh used to pass from room to room. Finding nothing, they moved on to the new wing of the building. They were pleased to find that it was much cleaner than the areas they had previously searched, but it appeared to be uninhabited.

Then they found a door. It was closed, but there were sounds of movement coming from behind it, too muffled for them to identify the source with any certainty. They pushed it open and found themselves standing in a small bathroom. There was another door beyond it. The sounds were louder there. They opened the second door.

There was a scream.

"Aagh! Girls! There are girls in the boys' bathroom!" Shou, splashing about in the bathtub, howled at the top of his lungs.

"Aagh! A boy!" the girls squealed.

"Get out! Get out!" Shou shouted. He had probably never made so much noise in his life. "Quit staring at me!"

He seized on a bar of soap and threw it at them. When they saw him reaching to throw the soap dish next, the girls decided it was wisest to make a hasty retreat. They turned to leave - and one girl stepped on the soap. She fell on her friend, causing both of them to fall on top of each other. Shou, meanwhile, continued to scream and throw anything that came to hand. The unfortunate girls scrambled wildly and managed to crawl out of the bathroom on all fours. Shou continued to howl until he was sure they were long gone. He took a long breath.

"Man," said Ed, stepping out from his hiding place behind the fountain. "Who knew a little guy like you had so much lung power?"

"I know I didn't," said Shou. He sounded a little hoarse.

The bathroom door opened again, but this time it was only Kenzan. He was grinning broadly.

"Mission accomplished," he said, giving Shou a thumbs-up. "Those girls made tracks in a hurry, lemme tell ya! I'll bet people could hear you on the other side of the island."

Shou paddled over to the side of the bathing pool and hauled himself out. Kenzan threw him a towel, which he quickly hitched around his waist.

"Next time," he said, "let's think of a plan that doesn't involve me being naked."

"Hey, it worked," said Ed, who had been primarily responsible for the plan. "Considering the amount of time and resources we had to work with, I think we did pretty well."

"It was somewhat unconventional," said Saioh, with his usual dignity. He had been hiding behind the fountain with Ed. "Nevertheless, I am grateful for your help, unconventional or not."

"I... guess you're welcome," said Shou, "but if nobody minds, I'm going to put my clothes back on now."

"Hey, you never know," Kenzan teased. "Those girls might come back! We ought to be prepared!"

"If they do, it's your turn to get in the tub," Shou replied.

Kenzan grinned. "If I did that, they wouldn't get scared. They might wanna get in with me!"

The two of them fell to bickering. Ed watched them with an expression that said he wasn't sure whether to be amused or concerned.

"I just don't know about these two," he said to Saioh. "I mean, these are the guys we're trusting the fate of the world to... and _your_ fate."

"The fate of the world is the fate of the world," said Saioh philosophically.

"Yeah, I know - we can't change our fates," Ed replied. "I always trusted you about this Destiny business, but right now, I don't want to believe it. I want to believe we can control this situation. I lost you once, and I don't want to lose you again." His fists clenched. "You're all I've got left. I won't give you up."

"Nor will I," Saioh replied. His gaze turned distant for a moment. "The future is clouded to me. It all hinges on Juudai's actions, now, and those are beyond my power to predict. We must have faith."

Ed smiled wryly. "I'm not very good at faith."

"Nor am I," Saioh admitted, "but we have made it further than I thought we would. For the first time in my life, I am uncertain of what is coming next, but that gives me something I have never had before."

"What's that?" Ed asked.

"Hope."

Ed considered that a moment. Then he smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. I guess hoping is all we can do now."

Saioh set a hand on Ed's shoulder.

"Even if the Light wins in the end," he said, "I am glad to have had this chance to be with you again."

"Yeah, me too," Ed agreed.

_I hate to admit it, Juudai,_ he thought, _but I'm trusting you with the last person on earth I care about. The rest of the world doesn't matter to me, but you had better protect Saioh or I'll never forgive you!_

* * *

There were a lot of people hanging around outside the Ra Yellow dorm. It seemed like a safe place to hang around, since hanging around outside the school building while the Whites were rioting didn't seem like a very clever idea. Hanging around outside the Obelisk dorm didn't strike anyone as being a wise choice, either, and of course even most of the Reds preferred not to hang around outside the Osiris dorm if they could help it. Ra Yellow made a nice middle ground, so most of the students who had been disqualified from the GX games had congregated there to pass the time. Manjoume smirked at them from his vantage point behind a handy tree.

_They're not much, but I suppose they'll do._

He had agreed with Juudai when he'd said that he could stop the rioting. What he hadn't admitted, at least aloud, was that he probably couldn't do it alone. If he showed his face to the Society without adequate backup, he was going to be in big trouble. They probably wouldn't even leave any pieces of him to be remembered by if they got hold of him. So he was going to have to go for reinforcements.

"Hey, you clowns," he shouted, stepping into view. "What are you doing, sitting around on your butts when you could be out dueling?"

One of the students nearest to him gave him a glare. "We're disqualified."

"So?" said Manjoume. "Who says you can't be dueling just because you aren't gonna win the stupid contest? In case you haven't noticed, there's a _riot_ going on out there."

"Yeah," said someone in the crowd. "That's why we're over here where it's safe!"

Manjoume looked at them as if they'd just told him the sky was green. He was very good at such looks; they said "What kind of idiot _are_ you?" with a clarity that was only enhanced by the obvious fact that he was too aghast at their stupidity to actually speak.

"Let me get this straight," he said. "Here's the Society of Light. They've been screwing things up on this island ever since they got here, okay? They screwed with me, they screwed with my friends, they screwed with _your_ friends. They walk all over anyone who gets in their way. And now that isn't enough. Now they're getting ready to pull our school - _our school_ - to pieces, and you're just going to sit here and let them do it? Well, good for you! Glad to know you're all such big, brave duelists. Huh, you're tough enough when you're in class, but give you a _real_ emergency and you're just fine with sitting around on your butts doing nothing. Well, later, losers. I'm off to go do something about it. Maybe I'll lose the championship, but at least I'll keep my self-respect, unlike a bunch of jokers I could mention who have nothing to lose but aren't even going to bother trying."

He turned and stalked off, radiating pride and righteous indignation.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" someone shouted at him. He recognized the voice, though he didn't know the name - it was a student from Osiris Red, a year below him, who had lost all his medals the first day of the competition. "You can't challenge them - they'll tear you apart!"

"Humph. Shows what you know," said Manjoume. "You know why those freaks are rioting? Because they've lost their leader. Saioh cut out on them. He doesn't want anything more to do with them or the Society of Light, and they can't handle that. They're all running scared. That's why they're carrying on like that - they don't know what else to do. All it'll take now is somebody with some guts to stand up to them, and that'll be the end of the Society of Light. I think it's time we take back our school, but if you dweebs are too chicken to stand up to a bunch of cowards who are already scared half to death as it is, then I'm just going to do it myself."

He began walking away again. This time, a few people followed him.

"Hey, wait," said a boy in a blue jacket. "Maybe we can help."

"Yeah, let us come too!"

"I dunno," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You think you've got what it takes?"

"We can do anything better than they can!" said one boy boldly.

"Yeah, let us at 'em!" said another. "You can't take all the glory for yourself!"

"Right," said Manjoume. "Well, if you think you can handle it, I'm willing to take along a few volunteers. Who else is coming?"

There was a chorus of voices as several people - though not everyone - called out affirmatives. Manjoume let his dark gaze sweep over them.

"Anybody want to stay behind?" he asked. "If you're gonna stay behind, you'd better head for the hills right now, because we're not pulling any punches. Things are gonna get pretty ugly around here real soon, because as soon as we get our hands on that Society, there's gonna be some serious mayhem going on around here. We are taking this school back, and we're gonna do it any way we can. This is _our_ place, and if they think we're all just going to sit back and let them do whatever they want, they've got another think coming! We are not going to let them rule this school or steal our friends, and we're _definitely_ not going to let them win this tournament! Am I right?"

The response was an overwhelming cheer.

"All right, then! Who's with me?"

Another cheer. Manjoume smiled slightly, thinking to himself that if he ever wanted to get into politics, he could give his big brother a serious run for his money.

"Great," he said. "Let's go get 'em."

* * *

The road to the Obelisk dorm appeared to be paved with bodies. Most of them, Juudai was relieved to note, were still conscious, and even the ones that weren't didn't seem to have any long-term damage done to them. A few of them managed to glare balefully at him as he crept past them, and a few stirred painfully to pursue him, but they didn't seem to have much fight left in them.

"Looks like Manjoume is taking this seriously," Fubuki commented. He walked past one of the fallen students, stepping on the boy's hand as he went by.

"That wasn't nice," said Asuka, but without much real conviction behind it.

"He's one of the ones who beat me up," Fubuki replied. "Turnabout is fair play."

Juudai kept quiet. They were taking a roundabout route to the academy's most esteemed dormitory, trying to avoid being noticed by any of the Whites who might still be in fighting condition. It seemed that while they had been sneaking through the woods, trying to find a path that wouldn't get them spotted by someone, Manjoume and his followers had been busy stamping out rioters in a most effective manner. As they drew nearer to the Obelisk building, they were encountering more and more prone duelists in white jackets.

"Do you think he's in there?" Juudai asked.

"Do I think who's in where?" Fubuki replied.

"Misawa. Do you think he's going to be in the dorm? He might have gone, you know, somewhere," said Juudai vaguely. "He might be looking for Saioh, too. Or hiding. Or something."

"Well, there's one way to find out," said Asuka practically. She walked briskly up the path until she found one of Manjoume's victims, slumped against a nearby tree. She pressed a hand under his chin, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"Hello, there," she said sweetly. "We're looking for Misawa Daichi. Seen him lately?"

"This morning," answered the boy weakly. "At breakfast. Told us to look for Saioh."

"Is he still in the Obelisk dorm?"

"I think so..."

"He hasn't been acting a little weird today, has he?" asked Juudai. "Anything different about him?"

"Yeah," the boy replied, an expression of puzzlement crossing his face. "Now that you mention it, there was something. His hair changed color. It's white today."

Juudai and his friends exchanged looks.

"It's true, then," said Juudai. "Poor Misawa..."

The boy glared at him. "What do you mean, _poor Misawa_? Right now he's the most powerful person in the Society! He's achieved the highest stage of enlightenment!"

"Actually," said Fubuki seriously, "the way Saioh tells it, he's possessed by an evil space alien thing that's going to destroy the world. Burn it up so there's nothing _but_ light."

"Huh?" said the student. "But..."

"Thanks for your help," said Juudai, "but we've gotta go now. Bye!"

They scooted off, leaving the boy lying baffled under his tree. He wondered if he ought to tell someone about this, and then realized that he really wasn't sure who he could tell. He slumped back against the tree and closed his eyes again. Maybe if he just went back to sleep, it would sort itself out.

Meanwhile, Juudai and his two companions were hurrying up the path to the Obelisk dorm. They weren't even bothering with the convoluted roads anymore they were hurrying as fast as they could, hoping to reach the building before Misawa left the premises. There was no need to be cautious anymore, anyway. Everyone seemed to have left the area, or else they had already been dueled into submission and lay exhausted in whatever shelters they had dragged themselves to. It was deathly quiet. They were all but tiptoeing by the time they reached the front door of the building.

"Want me to go ahead and make sure everything's okay?" asked Fubuki. His usually gentle eyes were serious.

"Wouldn't it be safer for us all to go together?" asked Juudai.

"Well, it would," said Fubuki, "but it's like this. You're the one who's gotta get the job done, right? So if there's a trap, it would be better if someone else found it first."

Without another word, he went bounding towards the front door and darted inside. Asuka sighed and shook her head.

"It's things like this that remind me that I love my brother," she said, "and also that he's a complete idiot."

The doors swung wide open again, and Fubuki went sailing out, landing hard on the pavement and rolling a short distance. Asuka hurried over to his side.

"Fubuki, are you all right?" she asked.

He looked up at her through vaguely unfocused eyes. "I found the trap!"

While Juudai and Asuka tried to pull Fubuki to his feet, two boys in white jackets marched out of the building and glared down at them all with peculiarly blank eyes. Juudai felt a pang of dread as he recognized that expression. It was the same vacant look he had seen in Asuka's eyes when she had challenged him to a duel for his key.

"We knew you would get here," said one boy.

The other nodded. "You're not taking another step. No one may disturb Master Misawa!"

"_Master_?" Juudai repeated. "Now, wait just a minute! When did that happen?"

The boys ignored him.

"If you want to get in, you have to go through us, first!" said one of them.

Juudai looked at Fubuki, who nodded. Both of them powered up their Duel Disks, and the boys in white did likewise. They all drew cards and prepared to begin a duel.

Asuka stood on the sidelines and watched for a while. Then she slowly and calmly walked over, stood behind the Society boys, reached out her hands, and forcibly knocked their heads together. They fell to the ground with grunts of pain and surprise, and lay stunned there for a while, swearing and clutching at their bruised heads.

"Why do you boys always have to solve everything by fighting?" she complained.

"You think that way's better?" Fubuki replied.

Juudai didn't waste any time arguing method. Reluctant as he was to abandon a duel, he knew it was more important to find Misawa, so he shut off his Duel Disk and went racing for the door, leaping over the prone figures of the two boys before hurrying inside. The guards stirred themselves and tried to stop him, but Asuka and Fubuki intervened.

"Don't worry, we'll hold 'em off!" Fubuki shouted as he attempted to wrestle one of the boys into submission.

Juudai waved quickly to his friends before darting through Obelisk's grand front doors and vanishing from sight.

Once inside the building, he chanced a quick pause to look around, making sure that there were no more guards or anything else nasty drifting around. He wasn't willing to put _anything_ past the Light of Ruin. Fortunately, there didn't appear to be anyone nearby. He didn't have the imagination to be intimidated by the thought that there was something waiting for him that he couldn't see. Instead, he set off in the direction of the stairs. He was guessing that while the Light was in this compromised state, it probably wasn't going to wander very far away from its safe haven, and that meant that it was most likely hiding in the same room that Saioh had been in the first time Juudai had faced him.

"All right, buddy," said Juudai as he bounded up the stairs. "Hang in there. I'm coming."

He raced up the steps, his footfalls sounding far too loud in the empty building. He was panting a little by the time he reached the top floor and began heading in the direction he thought Saioh's room had to be. He hoped he could remember where it was. After all, he had only visited it once, in the dark, and a lot of what had happened once he got there was a little bit blurry in his mind. However, when he arrived on the right hallway, he was somewhat surprised to see that every door on it was closed, save for one. He walked over to it and had a peek inside.

The room was empty, but it was definitely the right one. Juudai could see the clear glass table where Saioh did all his readings; surely there could be only one such table in the school. No one was sitting at it, though, but there was evidence that someone had been recently. There were a few cards strewn across it, and Juudai wandered over to have a closer look. After all, he had never before sat down and looked at a deck of Tarot cards before. He picked up the ones that were set out and had a closer look at them, reading off their names: The Chariot, The Star, The Wheel of Fate. None of them meant anything to him, and he thought to himself that they ought to have a box at the bottom explaining what they were, the way Duel Monsters cards did. Bored, he got up to leave. Obviously wherever Misawa was, he wasn't here.

As he got up, Juudai spotted another door he hadn't noticed before. It was only a very narrow door, such as might have opened on a closet, and Juudai would have ignored it completely if it hadn't been standing open. There was a light shining inside, beaming on a flight of stairs leading downwards. It seemed like an odd place for a staircase, and it was just strange enough that Juudai thought it might be a good idea to investigate it more closely. He checked to make sure his Duel Disk was still safely affixed to his arm and that his deck was at the ready, and proceeded down the stairs.

He had vaguely expected that it would get darker the further down he went. It was a silly thing to think while he was in the headquarters of the Society of Light, but he had seen far too many movies with people walking down mysterious hidden staircases that were dark and full of cobwebs not to expect this one to be the same way. It wasn't dark, though. In fact, the further he went, the brighter the light got, until he had to hold up a hand to shield his eyes. He was nearly to the bottom before he got around to wondering where all of it was coming from.

At last, he reached the bottom, and stepped out into a large empty hall. Juudai gaped. It wasn't that the room was particularly large, though it was certainly large enough to hold the entire Osiris Red dorm with ease. It wasn't that the room was particularly magnificent, though it was - Juudai simply didn't have the aesthetic abilities to appreciate the statuary or the magnificent marble floor and painted ceiling. What stunned him was that the room was simply _impossible_. Juudai knew that the number of stairs he had gone down should have taken him below the Obelisk dorm, down to the basement or even below that, but this room had massive windows with light streaming through them. The view outside showed a view of a pure white sky over what appeared to be a desert - rolling hills of alabaster sand, studded here and there with clusters of pale rocks or the occasional leafless tree stripped bare of bark. It was a desolate scene, and Juudai felt a sinking sensation as he looked at it, and had to remind himself forcefully that he had left Duel Academia only minutes ago, and it had been as verdant as ever.

"Admiring the scenery?" said a voice. "It is beautiful. Clean and simple, pure and unstained... a perfect world."

"Looks boring to me," said Juudai.

He turned to face the speaker, and almost didn't recognize who he was seeing. It looked like Misawa, but only somewhat like him. His hair was faded to the palest shade of gray, and his eyes had an unnatural silvery tint. His skin was too pale, almost as white as his clothing. He looked like a marble statue of Misawa, something not quite real, and even the fact that he was moving didn't quite dispel the illusion.

"You would think that," he said. "After all, you are the champion of darkness. Of course you would prefer your own element."

"This isn't about preferring light or darkness," said Juudai. "Just look out there! Everything is dead. Anybody can see that's not good."

"I can see there is no arguing with you, so I will not attempt to press the point," said Misawa. "What have you come here for?"

Juudai him a glare. "I've come to get my friend back. I know you're not really Misawa. Let him go."

"Not unless you give _my_ friend back," he replied. "I need Saioh. This Misawa of yours is not a fit host for me. You can see that my presence in his body is already affecting him dramatically. I think that if I stay with him too very much longer, he may die. That would benefit neither of us. However, there is no point in my leaving him until I have a proper host. Tell me where Saioh is and I will take him and spare your friend. I have the entire Society searching for him anyway; you must know that he will be found sooner or later. Whether they find him in time to save Misawa is up to you..."

"Duel me, then," said Juudai. "We'll settle it that way. If you win, I'll join your Society and I'll tell you where Saioh is and give up my key and everything. You can even use me as a host, if you want. But if I win, you have to leave and not come back."

The Light was quiet a moment.

"Very well," it said. "Since this is the only way either of us can get what we want, I will duel you."

It gestured, and Juudai had a peripheral vision of something moving towards him, giving him just enough time to duck before a Duel Disk went sailing over his head. It swooped over to settle on Misawa's arm like a trained bird. Juudai stared.

"When did you learn to do that?" he asked.

The Light smiled coldly. "This is my space, child of darkness. There is very little I cannot do here."

"Then let's see if dueling is one of them," Juudai replied, powering up his Disk. "Let's go!"

"As the challenged party, I take the first move," the Light replied. "I'll play White Meteoroid in defense mode! Then I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Juudai sized up the orb of white fire that had appeared on the field. It only had 1000 attack points, an easy mark.

"All right, then! I'll start by playing E-Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" Juudai declared. "Attack his White Meteoroid!"

The Light watched impassively as its monster was destroyed, and its life points ticked down to thirty-four hundred.

"I activate my monster's special effect! When White Meteoroid is destroyed, I can search my deck and summon as many White Meteor cards as I have, and it appears I have three of them!"

"Okay, you do that!" said Juudai, watching the three white sparks appear. "I guess I'll just place two cards face-down and then it's back to you."

"Very well. Then permit me to show you what these tokens are for," the Light replied. "They may have only 500 attack points each, but if you have only attack position monsters on your side of the field, my White Meteors can strike you directly!"

"Uh-oh," said Juudai. He flinched as the three sparks hurtled towards him, and for a moment he could feel his skin burning as he was pelted with flaming rocks. His life points dropped to twenty-five hundred.

"I'm not finished yet," the Light continued. "I play my trap card, White Aggregation!"

"Aren't you aggravating enough already?" Juudai muttered.

The Light gave him a long cold look.

"_Aggregation,_" it repeated. "It means things coming together. In this case, it means that when I play this card when I have more than one White Meteor or White Meteoroid on the field, I must send all of them directly to the graveyard. However, once I've done that, I can special summon White Comet!"

A much larger flaming white stone appeared on the field, casting eerie lights over Misawa's face. Juudai sighed.

"Your monsters are really boring, you know that?" he said. "They all look the same!"

"Yes, but this one is different from the others in that it has 1800 attack points - more than enough to destroy your Sparkman!"

On that cue, the White Comet rushed across the field to smash into Sparkman, shattering him into a thousand pieces. Juudai's life dropped another two hundred points.

"Not doing very well, are you?" the Light jeered. "Almost half your life points are gone already, and you haven't even seen any of my _truly_ powerful monsters."

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Juudai declared. "I activate my trap card, A Hero Emerges! Now you have to choose a monster from my hand, and if it's a monster, I get to summon it!"

The Light smirked. "I choose the card second from the left - which, if I am not badly mistaken, is Polymerization."

"What? How did you know?" Juudai blurted.

"The Light sees all, Juudai. I know every card in your hand. I know what your face-down cards are, as well. You can't hide anything from me."

Juudai scowled as he sent his Polymerization to the graveyard.

"Are you done?" he asked.

"For the moment. Your move."

"Right! Time to get serious!" Juudai drew and studied his hand. "All right, I summon Dandelion in defense mode, and place one card face-down. Your move."

"That was serious?" the Light said. "How pathetic. I sacrifice my White Comet to summon White Asteroid!"

The White Comet burst in an explosion of sparks, and Juudai flinched away from the blinding light. When he looked again, a new flaming rock had appeared, one so large it wouldn't have fit inside Juudai's dorm. It shone so brilliantly that the rest of the room looked dark in comparison. Juudai rubbed his eyes and looked again. It wasn't just the contrast; the room really was getting darker. The white walls of the room were overlaid with a haze of charcoal grey, studded with paler shapes that might have been stars...

"Do you see what's happening, Juudai?" the Light asked. "We're getting closer to _my_ place, my birthplace, the source of my power. I am taking you there, and that is where I will destroy you. But first things first. You obviously want me to attack your Dandelion to give you two Fluff Tokens, so you can sacrifice them for E-Hero Neos on your next move. Am I anywhere close to right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Juudai admitted.

"Well, that isn't going to happen. I activate White Asteroid's special ability. When you have only defense position monsters on your side of the field, I can cut White Asteroid's attack in half so that it can attack you directly. And since White Asteroid has 2200 attack points..."

Whatever else he said was drowned out by a rushing noise, and Juudai could only stare as the massive asteroid hurtled across the field. As it reached his line of defense, the asteroid shattered into fragments, and Juuai screamed as he felt himself pelted by debris. His life points dropped to fourteen hundred.

"I will place one card face-down, and I think that will do for now," the Light commented. "Face it, Juudai, you are powerless to stop me. Why don't you just surrender now? All this dueling is a terrible strain on your friend's body. You don't want to push him too hard, do you?"

"No, I don't," Juudai replied, "so I'll just have to finish this up fast! My move!" He placed a hand on his deck and murmured, "Don't let me down now! Misawa's counting on us!"

With that, he drew, studied his new card, and smiled.

"All right! I knew my cards wouldn't let me down. I'll play the magic card Quick Summon, which lets me normal summon any monster in my hand, and I choose E-Hero Neos! He's got 2500 attack points, and that's more than enough to deal with your monster. Neos, get out there and kick some asteroid!"

Neos flashed across the playing field and pounded his fists into the asteroid, shattering it into dust. The room became darker than ever as the asteroid's light vanished, and Juudai was surprised to see that he could no longer make out the ceiling, and the windows were becoming almost invisible.

"Trap card, open!" the Light declared. "This card is called Fragmentation. When one of my monsters is destroyed, I can summon monsters from my graveyard with level stars totaling those of the destroyed monster. White Asteroid was a level six monster, so I will summon three level two White Meteoroids."

"Oh, geez," Juudai muttered. "Don't your monsters ever die?"

"Can light be destroyed?" the Light countered. "Of course not. Even the deepest darkness cannot destroy a single ray of light. No matter how hard you try, Juudai, you cannot extinguish me."

"We'll see about that," said Juudai grimly. "I set a face-down card. Turn end."

"Very well," the Light replied. "My turn! I sacrifice my White Meteors to summon White Supernova!"

A wave of heat rolled across the playing field, and Juudai flinched as a blazing star burst into existence before him. The Light of Ruin laughed maniacally as the playing field became washed in shimmering white lights.

"You're finished, Juudai," it said. "Do you know what this is? It's an exploding star, one of the most powerful forces in the universe. It's going to burn through your line of defense, starting now. White Supernova, destroy E-Hero Neos!"

"No biggie," said Juudai casually. "That thing only has 2600 attack points. I can handle it!"

"No, you can't. Didn't I tell you? White Supernova has an effect: when it destroys one of your monsters, the force of its burning heat will do damage to you equal to half its attack points! You only have fourteen hundred life points left. One hundred points of battle damage plus thirteen hundred points of direct damage will bring you to exactly zero life points. This is your last turn!"

"And I told you, I can handle it," said Juudai. "I play a trap card, Negate Attack!"

"What?" An expression of shock passed over Misawa's face. "When did that get there? Why didn't I see it before?"

Juudai shrugged. "How should I know? Most people don't know what kind of trap cards the opponent is laying down. You're the one going on about how the Light reveals all. Not that there's a lot of that out here."

"Hmm... yes," the Light hissed. "How foolish of me. We are drawing closer to the source of the Light, but also closer to the source of the Darkness. Your powers will be growing stronger as well... but I know how to use mine, and you barely have the first inkling." He sighed. "Very well. You can't pull off a miracle like that every turn. I place two cards face-down and end my turn."

"Fine. Now you're going to see what I can really do!" said Juudai. First, I summon Neo- Spacian Flare Scarab to the field! Then I play the spell card Neospace! That lets me fuse my Neo- Spacian cards without having to send them back to my hand at the end of the turn, so go ahead, guys! Contact fusion!"

In a whirl of fire and light, Neos and Flare Scarab merged together to form Flare Neos. Juudai grinned as he watched his new friend appear.

"What do you look so proud about?" the Light snarled. "He still has fewer attack points than my White Supernova."

"Yeah, but he also has a wicked special effect. He gains four hundred attack points for every trap and spell card on the field, and it looks like you have two of them over there, and I have one over here," Juudai replied. "Not only that, but he gains another five hundred attack points from the effect of Neospace. That brings him up to a whopping forty-two hundred attack points! So, Flare Neos, burn up his Supernova!"

Flare Neos swooped in a wide arc around Juudai, building up speed, before ramming into the heart of the star in a colossal burst of fire. There was a deafening roar as everything went up in flames. Juudai had to shield his face from the intense heat. For a moment, smoke drifted across the battlefield. All was silent. Then a hoarse laugh broke the stillness.

"I commend you, Juudai," said the Light. "You've done well to make it this far, but you won't make it any further. You've only sealed your own doom."

"Yeah, yeah, heard it all before," said Juudai. "I'll set a card face-down."

"It won't help you," the Light replied. "My move! I play the spell card White Wormhole! I have to pay half my life points to use it, but it allows me to remove from play one White Meteor, White Meteoroid, White Asteroid, and White Supernova in my graveyard to summon my ultimate monster, White Hole!"

The universe twisted, and Juudai felt a shudder run through him as every nerve in his body screamed that something was going very, very wrong. He could hear the Light laughing wildly, but the sound seemed warped and strangely far away. In the center of the field, there appeared a pulsating blob of white light, casting a sickly radiation over everything.

"How do you like it, Juudai?" the Light taunted. "It's my ultimate monster! You'll never be able to defeat it. It has forty-five hundred attack points, and it can't be destroyed by traps or spells. Even if you should somehow manage to destroy it, it will automatically be re-summoned back to the field! It is indestructible as Light itself! Of course, I can't attack on the turn it's summoned, but I can afford to wait. Your move."

"Fine," said Juudai. "I play my trap card, Soul Union! For this one turn, I can add the attack points of one monster in my graveyard with 'E-Hero' in its name to the attack points of one of the monsters on my field, and I choose E-Hero Sparkman! That gives my Flare Neos an added sixteen hundred attack points!"

The Light said nothing, but inwardly, it was rejoicing. So much for bravado! He had known all along that Juudai would not be able to resist the challenge of a powerful monster, and had laid a trap for just that occasion. As a matter of fact, he had laid two trap cards, just to be prepared for all eventualities, but the only one he needed now was Magic Cylinder. Once he set that off the duel would be over completely, so he simply watched the attack blazing towards him with a smug smile.

"Trap card open!" it said. And then, in a completely different voice: "The Emperor's Holiday!"

Juudai and the Light looked equally startled by this pronouncement, but only the Light of Ruin heard a small voice on the borders of its mind say, "That's what you get for manipulating me, you sodding bastard."

And that was the last thing the Light of Ruin knew or heard before it was destroyed entirely in a wash of flames.

Smoke drifted across the battlefield. Slowly, the darkness faded, leaving the a more mundane view of the inside of the white room. Juudai coughed a few times, feeling weakness wash over him as the effects of the strenuous duel hit him. He looked across the room and saw Misawa lying there in a disheveled heap. He wasn't moving.

"Misawa!"

Breathing heavily, Juudai staggered across the floor and dropped to his knees by his friend's side, trying to pull him into a sitting position. Misawa moaned a little.

"C'mon, buddy, don't die on me now," said Juudai.

Misawa twitched again and slowly opened his eyes.

"Is it over?" he asked.

"It sure is," Juudai assured him. "The Light of Ruin is gone for good. Everything is going to be okay now."

"Good," said Misawa. "Juudai... listen, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything..."

There was an ominous rumble. Cracks began snaking across the floor, and little chips of plaster dropped from the ceiling. A pane of glass fell from one of the nearby windows and shattered on the floor.

"Hey, that's great," said Juudai, "but I don't think now is the time to tell me about it. Can you walk?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Me either. Let's give it a whirl anyway."

He hauled Misawa to his feet, and together, the two of them staggered across the crumbling floor, leaning on each other for support. Bits of the ceiling came crashing down all around them, in disturbingly large chunks. It was sheer good luck that they were smashed by a falling stone. The room filled with dust, making it hard to see or breathe, and both of them were coughing as they finally reached the stairs. They had climbed only a few steps before a deafening crash and a rush of air alerted them to the fact that the entire room had caved in. Neither of them looked back, but lurched up the stairs as fast as they could until they were far away from the noise and commotion. As a matter of fact, they didn't stop at all until they had reached the top of the stairs and collapsed onto the carpet. They lay there a moment, gasping for breath and trying to expel the last of the dust from their lungs. Eventually Juudai pulled himself to his feet and went to shut the door. He stared a moment.

"Hey, Misawa?"

"What?"

"How long has this door led to a closet?"

"I'm sure I have no idea," Misawa replied, "and I really don't want to know."

Juudai thought a moment. "You're probably right. I don't want to know, either."

"I just want to forget the whole thing ever happened," said Misawa. Then he shook his head. "No, that's not true. I can't forget it. It's too important to forget."

"Hey, it's okay," said Juudai. "It's all over now. The Light's gone, and it can't jerk you around anymore."

"But it wasn't just the Light," Misawa insisted. "It was me. I chose to do those things. Saioh was right about that - he offered them to me and I accepted, because it was what I wanted... what I thought I wanted. Nobody forced me to do any of it. I went along with everything willingly. I've been such an idiot..."

Juudai came and knelt next to him.

"Hey," he said. "It's all right. We all screw up sometimes. Besides, it was partly my fault, too. If I had been there for you..."

"It wouldn't have helped," Misawa replied. "Ever since I came to this school, I've had it fixed in my mind that I was going to be the best of the best. That was what was most important to me, and when I couldn't get it - when I saw you and Manjoume and the others doing the things I wished I could do - it ate me up. The more I couldn't have it, the more I wanted it, and the more willing I was to do ridiculous things to get it. I was jealous of you, Juudai, and for that I am extremely sorry."

"It's okay," said Juudai. "I understand. I really do. But Misawa, it doesn't have to stay that way. We can still be friends, if you want."

Misawa met his eyes. "You really... you still want us to be friends after all this?"

"Of course I do," Juudai said. "I mean, maybe someday I'll be the next King of Games, and then again, maybe I won't. But one thing I know I can do is be the best friend I can be, and that's what I aim to do. Any time you need me, you let me know. No more keeping it to yourself if you've got a problem, okay?"

Misawa gave him a watery smile. "I promise."

"That's the spirit," Juudai replied. "So what do you say we get out of this place, huh? I'm ready to get back out there and see how that tournament is going!"

"Good idea. Let's do that," Misawa agreed. "I've seen quite enough of this place for one lifetime."

He pulled himself back to his feet, and he and Juudai headed for the door. As they were leaving, Juudai said, "Hey, Misawa?"

"Yes?"

"What was up with that last trap card? I mean, it didn't do anything..."

"Oh, that. The Light had Magic Cylinder set, and it was planning on triggering it so you'd be hit by your own attack and lose the duel. I just sort of nudged things in a different direction."

"Ah," said Juudai. "So I didn't really win?"

"Well, you must have won, since it got rid of the Light."

"Yeah, but it wasn't an honest win."

"Call it a draw?" Misawa suggested.

Juudai shrugged. "Fair enough!"

They left the building and stepped out into the sunlight. They were greeted by a good many students in uniforms of various colors, all of them sounding excited. The ones in the white coats didn't seem to quite understand what was going on; the rest of them were as jubilant as if there was a festival going on. While Juudai was sizing up all this chaos, a small person detached herself from the crowd, flung her arms around him, and began to cry.

"Juudai-sama!" she wailed. "Juudai-sama, he beat me! You'll pay him back for me, won't you?"

"Rei?" he exclaimed. "Saotome Rei, is that you? What are you doing here?"

"Getting her butt kicked, that's what," said a smug voice, and Manjoume sauntered up to the front of the crowd, followed closely by Principal Sameshima and various other teachers.

"Juudai, Misawa, there you are!" said Sameshima. "We've been wondering where you two were. You almost missed the end of the tournament!"

"We did?" asked Juudai. In all the commotion, he'd almost forgotten about the Genex World Championship.

"Yes indeed," said Sameshima. "You two are the only ones left on the island whose medals are still unaccounted for. What have you been doing?"

"Dueling each other, of course!" Juudai replied.

"Well, who won?" Sameshima replied.

"You won, didn't you, Juudai?" asked Rei. "Go on - pay him back for beating me!"

"Well, uh..." said Juudai, rubbing the back of his head and grinning sheepishly. "We kinda beat each other. So I guess we're both disqualified!"

"Hmm," said Sameshima, stroking his beard. "Well, according to the rules, if you lose a duel, you're out of the game, and if neither of you won, then it would mean that both of you are out of the tournament. Which means that... ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!"

"Huh?" said Manjoume. He looked around in confusion as everyone else began to cheer. "What? Wait a minute... does that mean... I won?"

Juudai laughed. "Sure looks that way!"

"Indeed it does," Misawa agreed. "Congratulations, Manjoume."

Sameshima beamed. "I hereby proclaim the winner of the Genex World Championship to be Manjoume Jun!"

A fresh round of cheering broke out, and Juudai flashed a grin at Misawa as they both joined in the cheering.

"Doesn't bother me that he won. How 'bout you?" he said.

"No," said Misawa, "it doesn't bother me at all."

* * *

The sun set over a quiet island. Mostly quiet, anyway - somewhere in the background, Juudai could still hear the voices of Rei and Manjoume as they bickered with each other over ownership of Osiris annex. He suspected it was going to end with Manjoume bunking with him again, and that was all right. It was the way things were supposed to be. Juudai kicked his feet as they dangled over the edge of the cliff, listening to the soft sound of the surf against the rocks, and watching the dark speck that marked a helicopter in the distance. The chopper had arrived not long after the end of the GX tournament, and Saioh's sister had been in it. It had been nice, seeing the three of them so happy together. Juudai had managed to gather that they were planning on going back to Ed's home in California for a while to figure out what they were going to do next. Whatever it was, he hoped it would all work out well. He'd discovered that he liked them. Then again, Juudai usually liked people.

He was still sitting there thinking these things when someone sat down next to him. Juudai turned slightly to see that Misawa was now sitting and staring out at the ocean as well.

"Hey," he said. "What's up?"

"Oh, you know," said Misawa with a shrug. "Same old, same old."

"Ahh," said Juudai. "Gotcha."

They both sat in silence for a while. At length, Misawa said, "I'm leaving the school."

"What?" Juudai yelped. "Why? I mean... I thought everything was okay."

"It's getting better," Misawa replied. "But there are still a lot of things I need to think through. I've learned some things about myself I don't like, and it may take a while to figure out how to change them." He shook his head ruefully. "I'm better at solving math equations than I am at understanding feelings."

"Just trust your instincts," said Juudai. "You'll be all right."

"Thank you," Misawa replied. "You're probably right. If I had listened to my instincts, I wouldn't have gone as far wrong as I did. But I still feel like I need to get away for a while. I've made a real fool of myself, Juudai, and I don't know if I can face trying to go on like nothing has happened. I need to distance myself from things for a while so I can think about everything more clearly."

"So you're dropping out?"

"Not exactly. I talked it all over with Principal Sameshima, and he's arranging an internship for me. There's a famous scientist, Dr. Zweinstein, who studies duel physics, and he's agreed to take me on as an intern," Misawa explained. "There, I'll just be another lab assistant, at the bottom of the pecking order. It will be a good experience for me in a lot of ways, I think."

"Well, if that's what will make you happy," Juudai replied, "then I wish you the best of luck! But you're coming back, right?"

"I hope so," said Misawa. "I really do. It's not that I don't love this place, but the things I need to learn aren't the things you learn in a classroom. But even if I never make it back, I will still find a way to see you all again. You have my word on that."

"Shake on it?" Juudai suggested with a grin.

"Why not?"

Misawa took the proffered hand and shook it.

_You're right, Juudai,_ he thought. _I don't need to win a tournament to be proud of myself. I don't need to win duels or be popular or get good grades. All I really need is..._

"So, when are you leaving?" Juudai asked, cutting into his thoughts.

"Tomorrow morning," answered Misawa. "They're sending a boat to pick me up."

"Well, you want to come have dinner with us tonight? We're gonna have a big party down at the dorm, to celebrate Manjoume's big win. Everybody's gonna be there - Shou and Fubuki and Asuka and her girl friends and... well, everybody!"

"Um... I'm not sure if that would be..."

"We're having fried shrimp," said Juudai encouragingly.

Misawa laughed, the first real laugh he'd enjoyed since the day he'd challenged Saioh.

"And I certainly wouldn't want to miss that," he replied. "Very well. I'll come to your party."

"All right! C'mon, we'd better get going before all the good places are taken!"

Juudai bounced to his feet and grabbed Misawa by the arm, pulling him along to the Osiris dorm. There was already a good deal of commotion going on inside, judging by the sounds that could be heard - laughter, clapping, and cheering, punctuated by occasional repetitions of Manjoume's famous catchphrase. Juudai pushed the door open and made his way through the busy crowd, with Misawa following closely behind him.

"Hey, come sit over here!" Shou called, waving to them.

He and the others were sitting at a an already crowded table, which was actually two tables pushed together to make room for everyone. Manjoume was in the place of honor, with Asuka and Fubuki at either hand, with Shou and Kenzan sitting together on Asuka's side and Momoe, Junko, and Rei on the other. There were two places left, so Juudai went to grab one and pointed Misawa to the other.

"Sit," he said, and Misawa did.

"It's about time you two got here," said Manjoume. "You've been holding up the works."

"We were?" asked Juudai. "Geez, sorry about that!"

"It's not fun winning if you aren't here to see it," said Manjoume. "I will not put up with you ignoring me just because I won and you didn't."

"Hey, I'm not ignoring you! Look, see, I'm here watching, paying attention and everything," Juudai, stifling a laugh.

"We're rapt with admiration," Misawa agreed.

"Yeah, well, you'd better be!" said Manjoume.

"Okay, kids!" called a voice from the kitchen. "Food's ready!"

Ms. Tome came in, pushing a meal cart, passing out trays of fried shrimp and other delights. Juudai made a pounce and snatched two trays off of it, earning a glare from Manjoume, who didn't appreciate someone getting the first pick of his victory dinner. Juudai plopped one of the trays down in front of Misawa.

"Dig in," he said. "It's your last dinner at school, so make it a good one!"

Misawa nodded his acquiescence and sampled the food. It wasn't half-bad, he decided. He settled back to watch the dinner entertainment - the endless rounds of flirting, bickering, boasting, and laughing that filled up every day with this crowd. He was going to miss it, and he treasured it now, storing the memory away carefully in his mind to bring back when he was far away and alone. He felt he would need such memories to see him through whatever was coming next, until he was ready to come back.

"Look, you!" he called out. "You're hogging the rolls! Share!"

Fubuki laughed and held the bread-basket out of Misawa's reach, and Misawa made a purposefully off-target grab for it. A few of the others joined in the game, laughing and grabbing and getting in each other's way. It was silly and undignified and slightly messy, but Misawa didn't mind a bit.

_Someday I'll make it happen,_ he promised silently. _To be a true friend to all of you would be the greatest achievement of my life. When I can say I have done that, then I will truly have done something I can be proud of._

**The End**


End file.
